A Hero's Work is Never Done
by TheTwilightKnight
Summary: Shirou faced many challenges in life and followed his ideals to the bitter end, he accepted it, but even he wasn't prepared for what was waiting for him next, after all "death is only the beginning".
1. Prologue

This is an AU, keep that in mind.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Queen's Blade or Fate/Stay Night, nor do I own anything thing associated with them.**

* * *

"_Rebirth is a very strange feeling."_

A five year old Shirou Emiya sat in a dimly lit shed closed his eyes in concentration. This was his fifth attempt today and he hoped that this time it actually worked and didn't fizzle or blow up in his face like last time.

"Alright, here we go." He said closing his hand. **"Trace On"**

He focused and went through the paces of Tracing in his head. After a few moments he opened his eyes and smiled when he saw the pushpin he was able to trace. It was a major downgrade from what he could do before and it was obvious that it would be a while before he would be on the same level. A new world meant new rules and new rules meant a new game.

The red head wiped sweat from his brow. "All of that work for a pushpin and it's gone."

Shirou sighed and laid down on the cold shed floor. The pushpin that he had just traced barely last any time at all. Shirou narrowed his eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the shed. It was time like this when he wondered what his father would say if he could see him now.

"Jeez, Shirou, what did you do today?" The red head said in a voice mocking his 'father', Count Vance.

"Aw, nothing much, but hey I made a pushpin today."

"Wow that's amazing! Why don't you try for a clothespin tomorrow?"

"Jeez thanks Vance." He finished, ending the imaginary conversation with a laugh. "Like I would reveal my magic to him."

The red head laughed before he felt another presence nearby. He sat up and was presently surprised to see a beautiful blonde haired woman with blue eyes standing in the doorway. She wore a light blue dress and an amused expression on her face. Despite being a lady of higher class, she gave off a rebellious and strong willed aura.

"Aw, so this is where you were." She said, her voice calm and serene. "I've been looking all over for you."

Shirou smiled. "Hi, Ms. Maria."

Maria Vance the wife of Earl Vance, better known as, Count Vance. She was his legal wife, but the count had children by two mistresses. Maria, despite knowing this, treated both Shirou and his younger half-sister, Claudette, like they were her own children. She didn't even get mad when Shirou called her Maria. Shirou liked Maria, while she wasn't his real mother she gave him a feeling that said otherwise.

"Morning Shirou." Maria replied with a small smile. "I didn't see you at breakfast and you weren't in your room. So, using my woman's intuition, I figured you would be in the place you always are."

"Woman's intuition sounds scary." Shirou laughed while he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh really? I guess I just lost track of time. I'll try not to be late tomorrow."

Maria hummed and looked around. There was a burned out candle on the floor and a plate that she could only assume was the one that he taken from the dining room earlier. A normal five year old boy would have been bored to tears if he had to endure this silence and solitude. She wasn't sure if Shirou was a unusual child or if he was just too far ahead of his time.

"Well, I'll leave you to your devices." Maria said. "Also, don't worry I won't tell Earl about that thing you made."

Shirou arched an eyebrow as it took him a second or two to figure out what she meant and he realized she was talking about the pushpin he began to sputter excuses. Maria just laughed at this attempt, patted the boy on his head, and smiled.

"That must be a gift your real mother gave you." She said before she turned and left the shed.

When she was gone, Shirou let out a sigh of relief, laid down on the ground, and stared up at the shed's ceiling. His golden eyes closed and he thought back to how all of this happened. Well, the first step in rebirth was dying, now how exactly did he die?

"_Oh right," _He though remembering what happened. _"I got hit by a car. Funny, after everything I've been through, a car is the thing that did me in. I would expecting getting stabbed, burned, or crushed to death."_

As Shirou started to think about the more he found that his mind wanted to go in a much different direction. It wanted to keep going back to what Maria said about his mother. It was something that haunted him since birth. His adult mind meant that all of he was basically an adult in the mind of a child and has been since birth which allows him to remember things a normal baby or child would not.

He didn't get look at her face but he heard her voice and caught a glimpse of her red hair. A shade of red that as the exact same as his own.

Shirou smiled. "_One day I'm go find you mother and when I do we can make up for lost time."_

* * *

**Ten Years Later**

Shirou whistled as he walked down the hallways towards the courtyard. He was fifteen and he was finally in a form that he was comfortable with. Sure, it was a few years younger compared to how old his body was prior, but he would take this body any day as compared to his child form which. No normal person could understand what it felt like to be an adult in the body of a child.

"_Why was I called to the courtyard again?" _Shirou stopped and tapped his chin in thought. _"Oh yeah, I'm being inaugurated into the guard."_

He started to walk again and as he walked he opened his hand. **"Trace On."**

A dirk formed in the palm of his hand. He smiled. It had been a long and often tedious process to relearn both Tracing and Reinforcement but after years of practice he was able to do most of what he could do. He still couldn't call on Kanshou and Bakuya though, but he was getting there. His Reinforcement on the other was either at the same level or close to the level he had it prior.

"If Maria didn't catch my one time and if I didn't shift my attention to Reinforcement instead then he could probably summon Kanshou and Bakuya by now." Shirou groaned he arrived at the door to the courtyard. "Looks like I'm here."

He pushed the door open and was surprised to be greeted by both a scowling Claudette and a bright, shining afternoon sun. Shirou smiled at her but she just scowled harder. He laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"What's up Claudette? You...you feeling well?"

He was answered with a bonk to his head by his sister. He rubbed his head in an attempt to soothe the pain. Claudette had amazing strength for someone of her build, age, and training. She was slender, but the amount of strength she had was ridiculous. Shirou couldn't only imagine how strong she would be when she hit adulthood.

"Where have you been? We've been waiting for you for thirty minutes!" She scolded harshly before sighing and folding her arms. "Honestly, Shirou."

Said teen just smiled even as he rubbed his head. "Aw, you know that being punctual isn't my thing. And when you start calling me Shirou? What happened to big brother?"

Claudette blushed and looked away. Shirou smirked at her attempt to not act embarrassed. That was Claudette for you. Strong and stable, but very easy to embarrass if you knew her weak points. She was like a brick wall in a way.

"T-that was a long time ago." She stated still looking away. "Anyways just go take your place in the line up."

Shirou nodded obediently and went to where he was suppose to stand. However, as he stood there he felt like something was out of place. Even as Claudette gave a speak to was more than likely to raise their morale, but Shirou couldn't listen when he knew something was off. He couldn't really say what it was, but it was probably something that should be noticeable.

All of the guards, except for himself and a white haired guy were the only males. Shirou glanced at the white haired male who just stood there as still as a monolith.

"_Well this is...new. I was expecting more men. Come to think of it." _Shirou struck a thinking pose. _"I don't think I've ever seen a male fighter of any kind."_

Shirou raised his hand. Claudette looked at him and arched an eyebrow in question. "Yes, Shirou. What is is?"

"Um, this is probably gonna make me sound stupid. But, where are the male guards?" He asked.

There was a few moments of silence before everyone started to laugh. The only two who weren't laughing were the white haired man and Claudette. The white haired man looked as if he like he wasn't even paying attention and Claudette was trying to maintain her authority.

"What's so funny?" Shirou asked, annoyed.

"Shirou," He turned to Claudette. "Men are often not involved in any military force. They usually operate as political officials or criminals. You and Pathfinder are the only males on the guard."

"Pathfinder?"

Claudette pointed the white haired man that Shirou had seen earlier. Pathfinder, as he was called, as at least a foot and a half taller than Shirou, had white hair, and had golden eyes. He was dressed in a leather armor set and had two long swords, one blue and one black, strapped to his back in an X. To Shirou, Pathfinder looked like a person that could be overlooked and noticed at the same time.

"Oh." Shirou said.

"He's kinda of weird though. Doesn't talk much, he doesn't complain, and he's good at following orders. He blends into the background so you probably won't see much of him." She explained before she lifted up something. "We don't have any male uniforms but Count Vance had this made for you."

Shirou held back the urge to just utterly break down and start laughing. Claudette was holding a suit of black, light battle armor. It looked exactly like Archer's armor and it even had the trademark red overcoat. The entire situation had a sense of ironic humor to it.

Shirou nodded. "Okay then."

"Onii-chan!" A yell came across the field. Shirou turned and smiled when he saw the youngest of the Vance children, Elina, running towards him in a yellow blur.

Shirou knelt down and embraced his sister who literally ran into him and almost knocked him to the ground. He laughed and Elina nuzzled her face in his chest. Claudette looked on with an indifferent expression but deep inside her reaction was much different. In a way, she was almost jealous of them.

"Cute." She whispered so that no one would hear her.

"You're adorable captain." Pathfinder commented from the background.

"Shut up Pathfinder!" She shouted at the man before turning to Shirou. "And you, what is this 'onii-chan' business?"

Shirou removed Elina from his person, despite being a child, she had one hell of an iron grip. The red haired male got to his feet and brushed the dust off of himself before facing Claudette.

"Onii means big brother. The 'chan' part is an honorific." Shirou explained. "You use to call me that too. You probably don't remember that now."

"Oh, yeah!" Elina exclaimed with a snap before she pulled out a two flowers: one with a red bulb and the other with a blue bulb. "Leina said to give these to you. The red one is for Shirou onii-chan and the blue one is for Claudette onee-chan."

With that the Elina gave a departing hug to both Shirou and Claudette before she ran off in a yellow blur. When she was gone Claudette gave a questioning look. Shirou explained that 'onee-chan' was the same as 'onii-chan' only for big sister instead of brother. However, the period of rest didn't last long as the big man himself, Count Vance, soon appeared.

Vance was a man who appeared to be in mid thirties. He had 'pure' blonde hair like Maria and dark, dull grey eyes that seemed to be pools of nothing. He wore a white robe with accents that practically reeked of nobility.

"Claudette." Vance said. "I'll be sending you on your first mission with the new recruits. Don't fail."

Shirou narrowed his eyes at the harshness and inconsideration of Vance's words. He hated when Vance did this and this very reason was why Shirou had stopped calling him father altogether. Not only was it painful to listen to, but it was painful to look at as well. It seems to Shirou that when Vance talked to Claudette like that, she deflated like a balloon. To avoid this, Shirou would often take the blame for whatever Claudette did wrong, but it was impossible to protect her all the time.

Suddenly, Vance turned his head and looked Shirou with his dark eyes.

"And you," Vance turned away and started to walk. "Don't die, my boy."

_"Don't worry. I'm not going to die in a world that I just got to."_

"Alright, we're going!" Claudette ordered her guards.

"Yes, sir!"

Shirou smiled as the guard set out into the world to complete their first mission.

* * *

This was a story that someone suggested that I should do after I made a request for more story ideas. This seems like this is the 1st Fate/Stay Night-Queen's Blade Crossover. If you see any spelling errors point them out and I'll fix them.

Ages of the Vance Children (At the end of this chapter):

Shirou: 15

Claudette: 14

Leina: 7

Elina: 6

Don't know what else say besides that I'm still open to new story ideas. If you have one than feel free to share it with me.

Questions, comments, concerns?


	2. Chapter 1

Shriou sat in front of the campfire and watched the flames flicker and dance in the starless night. His comrades were all fast asleep in their tents. It had been both a long and uneventful day. Their first mission was nothing more but a simple border patrol, which while extremely important, isn't the most exciting job on the planet and nine hours of it didn't help. For full nine hours they paced back and forth along the border and were on the lookout for any possible threats. It was clear to everyone that this was the job that no one really wanted to do.

After their shift ended, the recruits and Claudette walked about halfway to the estate before the sun started to set. Claudette said it wasn't wise to travel at night so they set up camp and an hour later the tents were set upped and the campfire was going.

Shirou's lips twitched into a smile "Today wasn't so bad. It was really nice spending time with Claudette since we rarely get to do anything together anymore."

Shirou sighed and looked up into the sky. "Just where have the years gone?"

_**1 Year Ago**_

_Shriou whistled as he walked down a hallway while carrying a piping hot bowl with Elina walking by his side, well more like running circles around him as he walked. The youngest Vance was always so full of energy. She was like that all the time but when it was time for a nap or go to sleep, it seemed at that very moment she would run out of energy. It was obvious to him that she inherited that from Maria since her father was lethargic for the most part. She also seemed to have developed an instinctive tendency to cling to him during her sleep. Just when he is about to leave her, her little hands would shot out and wrap themselves around his arms or some other body part, into a strong grip. Seriously, for a small child, Elina has one hell of a grip. It's scary to imagine how strong it will be when she grows up._

_"Onii-chan," She said still running circles around him. "Whatcha doing?"_

_Shirou smiled down at her while at the same trying not to trip over her. "Leina is sick so I'm bringing her some rice porridge to help her get better." His tone turned serious. "Elina please stop running around me so you don't trip and fall._"

"_Okay." The young blonde said, obediently stopping at his request. "Rice porridge? What is that?"_

_"It's a dish that is usually served to the sick. Rice is easy to digest so it should be easier on her stomach." Shirou explained to the little girl. "Luckily for me the kitchen has a lot of ingredients and the maids don't mind if I cook something in there."_

_Elina's eyes sparkled as she looked at Shirou with a very familiar look. It was the look that little kids had when they just discovered something amazing. Then again, no one could say it was difficult to impress a child, let alone an intensely hyperactive child like Elina._

_"You can cook, Onii-chan?" She asked._

_Shirou nodded. "I can cook a whole bunch of things actually."_

"_Onii-chan you're amazing!" Elina beamed with unbridled fascination._

_Shirou laughed at the girl's comment as they turned a corner and arrived a large door with a golden doorknob. He pushed it open to reveal a lavish room that was obvious for a little girl. A rich little girl. The walls were light blue and the room itself was filled with needlessly expensive furniture that is not needed for a six year old._

_After looking all the expensive stuff in the room, Shirou snorted."She doesn't need all of this stuff." He said before turning to Elina. "Stay out here Elina. I don't want you to get sick like Leina."_

_Elina pouted that she wasn't going to be able to see Leina but she nodded obediently. Shirou smiled and patted the pouting girl on the head before walking into the needlessly lavish room and closing the door behind him. He spotted a sickly figure laying on a big expensive bed and walked over to it. When he reached the bed and looked at Leina again, he was taken aback. She looked horrible. She was as pale as a ghost and her skin looked moist, her hair looked like it degenerated from a shiny blonde to a murky, dirty dish water looking blonde, and she was sneezing and coughing every ten seconds.._

"_Hey, how are you feeling?" Shirou asked with small smile. He was painfully aware of how obvious the answer to that question was._

"_Sick." Leina said like it was the most obvious answer in the world. The answer that Shirou expected. "You pr-probably d-don't want to g-g-get near me un-unless you w-want to get s-s-si-sick." She spoke trying to hold in her sneezes and coughs._

"_Well, I brought you some rice porridge to help you feel better. White rice is easy to digest so it should be easy on your stomach." Shirou said taking a spoonful. "Also, don't worry about me. I haven't been sick once, you can ask Claudette."_

_"Really?" Leina asked to which Shirou nodded. She seemed satisfied by the answer and shifted her gaze to the bowl that Shirou had brought with him. "Alright, c-can I h-have some of that, please?" She wheezed._

_Shirou nodded and moved the spoon to her mouth. Leina was hesitant at first but when she saw her brother's reassuring smile she allowed the spoon into her mouth. After a moment she swallowed it and looked at Shirou with these big expressive eyes. He laughed. It seemed she liked his cooking and this was just a sample of what he could do._

_"There, It's not so bad right? Tell you what, when you get better, I'm gonna make you a crepe." Shirou said with a smile.'_

_Leina's eyes lit up. Her interest was piqued. "A crepe?"_

"_Trust me, you'll like it." He said with a smile. "Would like a strawberry, chocolate, banana, or apple cinnamon crepe?"_

* * *

Shirou laughed at the memory. The really funny part about it was that after that, Leina made a fast recovery and got over her sickness in three days. He kept his word and after those three days he made her an apple cinnamon crepe. To be blunt, the little girl didn't eat the crepe, she inhaled it in three bites. Ever since that day whenever Shirou would make a crepe, Leina would come running. It was like her taste buds developed a GPS or whatever that doohickey was that gave directions. He was glad that she liked his cooking though.

_"You would think that girl was starving." _Shirou thought with a smirk on his face. _"Its nice spending time my sisters. It's just a shame that I don't see much of them anymore."_

The redhead frowned. In recent years it seemed that everyone started to drift apart. Claudette was often too busy with her duties as a knight to even give the time of day. Leina was often taken aside by tutors with the sole purpose grooming her to be a proper next heir, much to the child's distaste. Elina, was a different case. The energetic girl would often appear when she wasn't expected and then disappear without a trace. It seemed that Shirou had all the free time in the world compared to his siblings. Although, this 'free time' was actually spent retraining his Tracing and Reinforcement.

Shirou's brows furrowed. _"Ten years of practice and I still can't trace any of the Noble Phantasms. It doesn't make any sense." _The redhead sighed. _"It appears that this world isn't gonna let me do as I please."_

The redhead yawned. _"I'd better get some sleep so Claudette doesn't yell at me to get up tomorrow in the morning."_

In the barrack's dining room, all of the recruits, except Shirou, were seated around a wooden table and awaited for their breakfast. Fortunately, Shirou had been so kind as to volunteer for cooking it, but that was about an hour ago and he still showed no signs of being done. Why he volunteered to do it was beyond them. He didn't look like the type that would be good at cooking. But, at this point, the recruits didn't care if a monkey was cooking their food.

Claudette drummed her fingers on the table impatiently. She had her head propped up with the other hand. "What the hell is he doing in there?"

"Cooking obviously." Pathfinder said from his seat. He spared a glace at his captain and arched an eyebrow when he noticed the glare on her face. "You know for a fourteen year old, you have one hell of a glare."

The guard captain snorted, "So I've been told." She said, rolling her eyes.

At that moment an apron wearing Shirou came into the room with both a large pot and a triumphant look on his face. He placed it in the center of the table and few moments later several maids carrying dishes placed their respective plates onto the table. When they placed the plates down they walked over to the wall and stood in a line, awaiting for further orders.

"Thank you ladies." Shirou said with a smile. "You're a big help."

The maids bowed respectively and said in unison. "Happy to help master Shirou."

Shirou nodded, "Oh, and I'm still on to help you cook when Count Vance's guest arrive correct?"

The maids nodded and bowed once more before leaving the room. When they were gone Shirou sighed and turned to see that everyone was already eating. The kitchen didn't really have that much ingredients that just made room for culinary experimentation. The pot was filled with steamed rice and the plates held omelettes stuffed with vegetables, lightly seasoned grilled tuna, and a fresh fruit salad. There was enough to feed about twelve people, there were ten people in total and there weren't going to be leftovers.

"This is delicious!" One recruit cheered with a pump of her fist.

"Yeah, it really is!"

Shirou laughed and scratched the back of his head. He was glad that they were enjoying his food so much. One of his favorite things to do was cooking, it was the fact that one was taking ingredients and mixing them together to make something so delicious. It was like science without the fancy technical terms or the threat of releasing something terrible upon the world. Regardless, it was always a joy to watch people enjoy his creations. However, he noticed one thing, Claudette wasn't eating and instead was opting to give the food stacked plates in front of her a good long stare.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Shirou asked.

Claudette glanced at him before looking back at the food on the plates. She hadn't tasted food like this before, she had seen servants carrying dishes like these into Count Vance's office when he had guests. Needless to say, she was never allowed in there unless she was called for. She spared another glance at Shirou, who was now seated and enjoying his own food, before taking a piece of the grilled tuna. After a moment of studying it she took a bite.

Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed red. It was one of the most delicious things she had ever tasted. Maybe it was because of how the fish was prepared, or the way the spices blended into the taste, or maybe it was simplicity of the dish. Whatever the reason was, Claudette's taste buds were in heaven.

"It's so good." She mewled lowly.

"Captain, I know how you feel."

Claudette turned and was pleasantly surprised to see Pathfinder, who apparently was going through same emotions she was if the blush was anything to go by. It was sort of weird seeing a grown man blush while maintaining a completely placid and even look. Of course, that placid and even look was one that he always had and to expect anything different from him would be a waste of time.

Pathfinder placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. "We're the same captain. We're...the same."

"No, no we're not." Claudette replied trying to pry the hand off of her shoulder.

Shirou chuckled at their shenanigans earning a glare from a flustered Claudette in the process. He just laughed harder and Claudette flushed in an even darker shade of red. Her embarrassment was soon replaced with anger and she did what she normally did when Shirou teased her: she tried to hit him. But, before she could, Pathfinder grabbed her wrist gently yet firmly.

"What?" Claudette hissed with a glare.

"If you hit him then he probably won't cook for us again." Pathfinder said with an out-of-character slightly concerned tone. "If you do that I'll never forgive you!"

Claudette's face drained of color and she slumped back down into her chair. Shirou had to hold back the explosive laughter that was welling up inside of him. This was one of the funniest things he had ever seen. The mighty and feared knight commander Claudette, flustered and shirking into a chair and probably whimpering mentally at the mere thought of not being able to eat her older brother's food.

Shirou took the last bite of food and sighed before observing his comrades starting on their second plates. _"The people of this world really like my cooking. It must be the style I use."_

The doors of the barracks suddenly opened to reveal the two youngest of the Vance children: Leina and Elina. Their mother was Maria and they took a lot after her. They had the lush blonde hair, the same blue eyes, and even her creamy skin color. It was hard to believe that Count Vance was their father since they looked so much like their mother. Leina was wearing a blue dress that her hand maiden had sown for her and Elina was wearing a white dress.

"You're back!" Elina shouted, going in for her signature tackle-hug, once again nearly knocking Shirou to the ground. When she failed Elina puffed out her cheeks. "You're suppose to fall down!"

Shirou smirked. "Oh really?"

"Yes!" Elina shouted with stars in her eyes. "Isn't that right Leina?"

Leina? Oh right, she did come in with Elina didn't she? Leina was just so quiet that it was easy to forget about her. It may have not been the fact that she was quiet, it was more likely that she just simply lacked presence so it was easy to overlook her. Shirou looked at Leina who just sighed and shook her head slowly.

"If you knocked him down he would have hit his head on the table." Leina said, not making eye contact with Shirou or Elina. "That would have been bad."

Shirou nodded while Elina just huffed in disapproval. "So what are you two doing here?"

"We came here to congratulate you on your first accomplished mission." Leina said.

Shirou blinked. He didn't even know that Leina knew the word 'accomplished' let alone know what it meant, he was somewhat impressed. Leina's tutor was much more advanced than the one he had when he was still being tutored. His modern education left this world's education in the dust and let him graduate at age ten with high honors: a thumbs up and good job.

"Mission? Do you consider patrol a mission?" Shirou asked, not really sure.

"Yep!" Elina admitted shamelessly. "We've never been out of the estate!"

Shirou sighed but nodded. It was true that Leina and Elina were the least traveled of the four Vance children. This was because they were the only legal children of the four so of course they would be protected more than the others. It was sad and could be considered even cruel if anything ever happened to the illegitimate children but this kind of thing wasn't uncommon in this period of time.

"We can't stay long." Leina said, speaking up. "Mama will be worried if we don't get back soon."

"Well, bye then. I'll see you two at the estate." Shirou said

The blonde duo nodded as two of the recruits got up to escort them back to the main building. Shirou rolled his eyes they were just kissing up to the boss. They were probably gonna say something like 'I found these two wondering around and brought it upon myself to take them back to their father' or something similar. It would have been fine to do that normally without having to get in good with the boss.

"Praise the sun" Pathfinder shouted suddenly. "The kiss-ups have revealed themselves."

Shirou nodded. "Yep."

* * *

A single candle illuminated the dark shed and shined light on a few scattered tomes, scrolls, and a pile of empty ink wells laying in the corner. This was Shirou's workshop and if there was a table, a bookcase, or even a box in here it would be a lot more organized. Shirou didn't really have much to complain about other than that. The servants and everyone else left him to his own devices and as long as he wasn't burning the house down no one was really concerned with what he did.

Shirou sat next to the candle with a quill in hand and a scroll rolled out in front of him, writing in Japanese. The language was like code to the people of this country and writing in it ensured that no one would be able to read Shirou's notes. These notes just an assessment of the the inconclusive search of magical presence.

Shirou sighed and put the quill down. He had been combing over the thought of leaving Vance Estate to take a journey around the continent. He was curious as to how similar this world was to his previous one.

_"Besides, I can find the threats that are out there and find ways to neutralize them if the time comes."_ Shirou's time hear had been pretty peaceful but that didn't mean where weren't threats. _"I'd rather risk walking into something dangerous than waiting for something dangerous to find me unprepared."_

He tapped his chin. _"I guess I'll leave two years from now. That will give me enough time to save up some funds and to see if I can trace any of the Noble Phantasms by that time. Leina and Elina should be out of the clingy phase by then as well….. or at least I hope so."_

Shirou yawned. "It's settled then. Two years from now, I'm going to see this world for myself."

* * *

Wow, has it been a month already? I completely lost track of time and I have no idea what to say than C'est la vie. Trust me when I say, this chapter caused me much suffering, much pain, and many headaches. I swear, if it wasn't for my beta reader this probably would have taken a hell of a lot longer.

Well, I'm out. A month and I've got nothing to say, go figure.

Questions, comments, concerns, story ideas?


	3. Chapter 2

Shirou whistled as he made his way to Claudette's office in the barracks to receive his duties for today. Surprisingly, instead of just going straight to the barracks lobby like always, he was ordered by a veteran knight to report to Claudette immediately. Shirou grimaced, the only times that Claudette ever asked to see him was to either scold him for something he did or to scold him for something he was probably going to do. How did she know that anyways? Regardless, the point was that being called by Claudette never meant anything good for Shirou.

_"Scolding here I come." _Shirou thought as he rounded a corner. _"Damn, I'm the older brother. I should be the one scolding her."_

"ONII-CHAN!" A shrill cry rang through the air.

Shirou's eyes widened and he managed to make a half turn before something small yet surprisingly strong slammed into his gut. The blow knocked the air right out his lungs and nearly sent him to the ground. Luckily, his training and past experiences allowed him to reduce the otherwise toppling blow to a mere stagger. He was thankful that he didn't slack off all of these years. If he did, he wouldn't be prepared for the numerous attempts on his life.

"Elina." Shirou said, his face twisting into a scowl. "Why do you keep trying to kill me?"

Elina, who had attached herself to his waist, puffed out her cheeks and pouted at her brother. "Why won't you fall down? Brothers are always supposed to fall down!"

Shirou's felt his eyebrow twitch at her explanation. It wasn't surprising though, Elina had always tried to do this, even from when she was really small. Elina would always say 'you were supposed to fall down' after every failed attempt to knock him down. He had no idea why she constantly tried to do that or why she got mad at him for failing to do so everytime. It seemed there was only one possible conclusion: little sisters are weird and not good at explanations.

"Is there a rule saying that I have to fall down?" Shirou asked, a victorious smirk creeping onto his face.

"No." Elina admitted, her head drooping before suddenly beaming right back up. "But, there should be!"

Shirou laughed and ruffled the little girl's hair before he continued on his way to the barracks. Shirou instantly noticed how hard and awkward it was to walk with a small child with a vice-like grip attached to your waist. It was sort of like walking with shoelaces that are tied together and with forty extra pounds attached to them. Needless to say, it was harder than it looked and it looked hard to begin with. It also looked just plain weird.

"Elina, please get off." Shirou said calmly but sternly. "I mean it."

Instantly, Elina released her grip and backed up a foot or two. Shirou paid her no mind after she let go and went on his way to the barracks. The advantage of being the older sibling to a clingy little one is that the little sibling were often obedient. Shirou only had to ask Elina to do something once and she would do it, and not many people had that kind of obedience from the Elina. It was probably a good thing though, Shirou probably wouldn't get use to the awkward way of walking that came with Elina clinging to him like a bad habit.

"So," Elina spoke up after catching up to her brother. "What'cha doin'?"

"Going to see Claudette." Shirou answered.

"Why?"

"Because she ordered me to." Shirou answered dryly. Oh boy, this again.

"Why?"

"I don't know why." Shirou said.

"Why?"

Shirou unleashed a loud sigh. Yeah, it was going to be one of those days. As much as life in this world was peaceful, that didn't mean that it didn't have moments were it was extremely annoying. Today for example: the wake up call earlier was tolerable, the scolding he knew he was going to get was a little depressing, the attempted murder by his little sister was pretty aggravating, but the endless streams of 'whys' was just down right obnoxious. Fortunately, the stream of questions would only last until Shirou made it to Claudette's office.

* * *

Claudette's office looked a lot like the one Count Vance had. The difference was that Count Vance's office was twice as big, had more useless junk in it, and had more expensive furniture. In comparison, Claudette's office was much more organized and had simple furniture, which just was a simple wooden desk, a few chairs from the dinning room, and a few bookcases. However, despite its simple and tidy interior, this room was the very center of despair and anxiety for everyone in the guard.

Shirou sighed and folded his arms as he sat on the dinning room chair. He had been sitting here for about five minutes and Claudette, who was busy stamping papers, hadn't even looked at him. She wasn't scolding him at least.

"So," Shirou started in attempt to break the silence. "what did you call me here for?"

Claudette looked up at him with green bloodshot eyes. She looked tired and her posture was pretty sluggish compared to what it was like normally. The way she looked reminded Shirou of Leina when she had that sickness two years ago. Although, in comparison, Claudette looked much healthier in the way that her hair didn't dull, her skin wasn't moist, nor was she coughing or sneezing. However, it was pretty obvious that she was still sick.

"Claudette, you don't look so well." Shirou stated, his voice concerned. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all." Claudette wheezed. "Now, about your task for today."

Shirou sighed and folded his arms again. He expected that answer from her. Claudette wasn't one to slack off or take breaks. It wasn't like she had such a luxury though. It was no mystery that she was treated like a servant by Vance, and servants were...well...replaceable. It was doubtful that Vance could be that cruel, but it was still a possibility. It was the fear of being replaced that most likely made her take this job and what drove her to work so hard as well.

"What is my task for today, if you don't mind me asking?" Shirou asked, leaning back in his chair.

"We've received a letter from a local inn about people disappearing. Your job is to report there with Pathfinder and find the cause of these disappearances." Claudette explained, her voice scratchy. "The inn keeper, Jack, should be waiting for you there to brief you in."

An eyebrow was arched. "Is that all the letter said?"

"No." The auburn haired captain shook her head. "The letter also requested an immediate response, but that is it."

"I see." Shirou said getting out of his chair. "I'll report there immediately then."

Claudette went back to stamping papers. "Be careful."

"I'll try but no guarantees." Shirou responded with a smile before leaving the room.

* * *

The walk to the inn hadn't taken more than forty minutes, but they were forty long minutes filled with nothing but silence. It just seemed that Shirou and Pathfinder simply had nothing to talk about, not even on work. However, it just allowed the two to focus that much more on walking. The place of the disappearances, the Roadside Inn, was a two level building made of bricks and wood. As its name suggested, it was located on the side of the road and was built in front of small forest.

Pacing in front of the inn was a man. The man looked to be in his thirties, was balding, and dressed in a 'commoner' fashion: a simple wool shirt, dark brown pants, and leather shoes. He paced quickly and would jerk whenever he would change direction. The man was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even seem to notice Pathfinder and Shirou walking up to him.

"Hey." Shirou called out to the man.

The man turned jumped and turned to the duo. "Who are you!?"

"Don't worry." Shirou said, putting his hands up to show that he meant no harm. "We're from the Vance Estate. I'm Shirou Emiya-Vance and the big guy next to me is Pathfinder. I take it that you are Jack, the inn keeper?"

The man cast a studying gaze at the two. "Yeah, I am Jack. It's good that you arrived so quickly, in the last two days three of my guests have gone missing."

"Did they have anything in common?" Shirou asked while looking around trying get a general feel for the area.

"Well, uh, they all disappeared into the forest." Jack responded and pointed towards the forest that bordered the very back of the inn. "Besides that I really can't think of anything else." Jack finished while scratching his head.

"I see." Shirou said looking over his shoulder at the forest. "It appears that starting looking in the forest would be the best course of action."

"We'll split up." Pathfinder suggest lazily. "Jack and me go into one direction and Shirou can go into another."

Shirou nodded and sets out towards his designated direction. "If we find anything we'll yell and if we don't find anything in fifteen minutes, we'll meet back up here."

"Rodger."

With that the three set out into the forest in search of the missing people.

* * *

The forest was silent, dead silent. The birds didn't sing, the insects didn't chirp, and not a single animal stirred. There was not a single sound or even a hint of any living being anywhere to be found. This, under normal circumstances, didn't happen unless something along the lines of a forest fire occurred. But a fire was unlikely, so it had to be something else.

But what?

Shirou walked through the forest carefully and slowly as not to miss any details that could lead to any of the missing people. So far there was nothing, not even a footprint.

_"Not a single person has been through here." _Shirou noted as he walked but still keeping an eye out. _"This forest isn't that big so there aren't many places a person could have gone."_

But before Shirou could ponder more on it, he caught a whiff of a very familiar yet foreign scent: the scent of magic. The scent was thick with water, dying vegetation and most importantly, the copper-like stench of blood. Shirou was no stranger to the scent of blood, after all, there was plenty of it to go around during the Fifth Holy Grail War. However, this combination of scents wasn't a familiar one.

_"A monster in a forest with a scent of blood. Geez, I wonder who is behind the disappearances." _Shirou sighed before taking another whiff. _"Well, it seems this world does have magic or at least magical creatures in it."_

However, one thing had Shirou very concerned: how come the scent was this strong if he just picked it up? Usually he would be able smell a magical creature form a distance away but this time he couldn't. Why was that? Had his ability to smell them diminished or were the creatures of this world just special and harder to pick up? Either way, it was a bad spot to be in right now.

_"It's the same smell as before: water, dying vegetation, and blood." _Shirou noted. _"if I trust my nose then it should be right..."_

Shirou suddenly spun on his heels and traced two long swords. What he saw -the creature- was like nothing he had seen before. The creature was humanoid, definitely female, and possessed a pink tinge to her curvaceous body. Her body looked moist and...jiggly? Yeah, jiggly. She had pink hair that went to her mid-back, blue eyes with strangely shaped pupils, and a pair of bunny ears on her head. Shirou would have taken more note of her features if he wasn't so distracted by her outfit.

Stripperfic.

That was the word that would best describe it. Her clothing was varying shades of pink and it looked like it was a part of her body, which it probably was, and it looked like a bathing suit...with a big part cut out that ran from the neck to the bellybutton. Oh, and not to mention that her breasts were covered by a pair of hands that were 'literally' formed from her hair. When coupled with her strange body, she had an eerie sort of appeal.

The entire time the creature was giving Shirou an innocent smile but Shirou wasn't fooled for one second. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the true meaning nature of the gaze: the predatory gaze of a beast sizing up its new plaything/meal.

"Well, well, if it isn't a Vance knight." The creature cheered playfully. "It's been a while since I've seen one of them."

Shirou's glared at the creature harder. Who did she think she was kidding? It was so obvious that she was trying to lure him in. She could hide her intentions behind a smile, but her eyes revealed the truth.

"I am Shirou Emiya." Shirou introduced himself politely. "Now, may I ask, who are you?"

The creature giggled childishly. "I am Melona."

"Well, Melona." Shirou said, still keeping a very close eye on her movements. "Recently, three people have gone missing in this forest. You wouldn't know anything about that...would you?"

She obviously did, but she didn't know that he knew that she did. Shirou knew it was a better idea to avoid conflict with any unknown creatures before he could collect more information on them. If he was luckly, he could avoid conflict completely and be on his marry way. However, that was just wishful thinking, luck was never on his side.

"Oh, you mean like her?" Melona asked pointing to the side.

Shirou glanced in that direction and true enough there was a person there. It was a young woman with long chestnut brown hair that went to her bellybutton. Her body was covered in small but still visible cuts and judging the blood these cuts were recent.

_"Where did she come from?" _Shirou arched an eyebrow before looking up at the tree. Several branches were broken off. _"Oh, I see. She was hiding her in the tree."_

"So, it was you." Shirou stated before glaring at the creature. "I figured. You reek of blood."

Melona shot the redhead an amused smile. "I smell huh? Well, I guess the ruse is up, eh? Oh well, it won't matter in the end anyways."

Shirou sighed and took a clumsy stance with his long swords. Melona smirked and held up her hand. Shirou's eyes widened when her hand started to morph into the blade of a sword. Ah, so her body was malleable

"Entertain me for as long as you can." Melona inquired viciously.

"And what makes you think I'm going to play your games?" Shirou questioned, still holding his stance.

The pink creature smirked. "You'll die if you don't." She said lowly. "Now show me what you got!"

Melona charged towards Shirou with surprising speed. Shirou held his ground firmly even as she struck at him. He raised one of the swords and blocked some of her blows then countered with a clumsy slash of his own. Melona blocked his blow easily and struck playfully at his arm and managed to cut into his bicep. Shirou winced and jumped away from the pink creature.

"What's the matter? Fight like you mean it!" Melona taunted, an arrogant smile on her face.

Shirou took a glance at his arm, it was bleeding but nothing too serious. His golden eyes shifted to his smirking opponent. Her posture was completely relaxed, not even a tinge of fear or concern. In simplest terms, she didn't think of him as an actual threat and didn't seem too concerned with being harmed. That was fine, it just made his job easier in the end, and the end was very near.

Suddenly, he brought the swords back and chucked them both at Melona. The pink skinned creature dodged the swords but barely had time to blink before Shirou was upon her. Melona's eyes widened as two steel blades came down on her. She managed to block one, but the other cut into her abdomen. Shirou then quickly struck again, this time loping off her arm.

"You bastard!" Melona roared and swung at Shirou with her remaining arm.

Shirou ducked under the blow, stabbed his blade into her stomach and with a forceful motion pulled up. Globs of pink substance flew through the air only to spat down onto the ground. There was a few seconds of silence before another, but louder, spat followed. Shirou looked down at his nearly bisected opponent and sighed.

"I guess that is that." Shirou said before glance at the young woman from earlier. "I should probably take her back to the inn."

But Shirou suddenly stopped, something was amiss. The red head slowly looked over his shoulder and eyes widened at what they saw. Melona laying on the ground in a sultry pose, a smirk on her face, and in one piece. Her body showed no signs of ever being cut, it was almost like everything Shirou did never happened. Shirou still had no idea what manner of creature she was, but whatever she was it sure was troublesome.

"Well, then," Shirou sighed while using the pommel of his sword to scratch the back of his head. "I didn't see that coming."

"That's a neat trick. I thought only angels could make swords appear out of thin air like that." Melona said, her voice filled with amusement. "But, I won't be fooled by the same thing twice."

Shirou slid back into his stance and examined his opponent. She wouldn't be careless as to make the same mistake twice, so her guard would be up a little bit. However, she still had the same smirk on her face and her body was till relaxed, so she still didn't see him as a threat. In her mind it was just beginner's luck but she wasn't thinking much of him anyways. Well, he still had a few tricks up his sleeves if push comes to shove.

Shirou and Melona dashed towards each other with the intent for a real duel. Shirou slashed at her head but Melona easily sidestepped and countered. Shirou ducked and slashed at her ankles.

"Too slow~" Melona sang as she span away. "You'll have to be quicker than that cherry top."

Melona swung at Shirou's side but he rolled out of the way. From his kneeling position he slashed at the pink creature's knees. The blade sunk in, but just as soon as it passed through, the wound healed. Melona laughed and lashed out with a kick. Shirou grit his teeth and ducked under the kick before getting up and shoving the pink creature away.

Melona placed a hand on her cheek and frowned. "You're starting to really annoy me, you know?" She said like it was Shirou's problem. "You keep this up and the Swamp Witch is gonna get really mad at me for being late."

"Who is this _Swamp Witch_?"

The pink creature smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know."

However, before anything could happen Melona sniffed the air and looked angrily over her shoulder. She turned back to Shirou and smiled before her body slowly started to change into a slime or ooze of some kind.

"Well, playtime is over." She said. "I won't forget your face and we'll definitely meet again soon...Shir~ou."

Said man just watched as the pink creature turned completely into slime and disappeared from sight. He sighed and let the swords he traced during the battle dissipate. Whatever creature Melona was, she sure was a nuisance. Her body was made of a pink slime so that explained why she was able to pull herself back together and why cutting her was ineffective. It would also explain her rapid regeneration.

Shirou stroked his chin as he pondered on a solution to this Melona problem. _"Cutting her is irrelevant if I can't cause lasting damage. I'll problem need a Noble Phantasm like Gae Bolg or a direct hit from Caladbolg II to destroy her."_

A moment later Pathfinder came walking out of a bush. He was looking as indifferent as ever and was holding a basket filled with what looked like herbs. The white haired male looked over Shirou's shoulder, where the girl was, before turning his attention to the red head himself.

"I see you found one." Pathfinder said, bored. "Drop the girl off at the inn and we can leave."

"No need." A new voice said. Shirou and Pathfinder both turned to the side to see Jack coming out of the bushes. "I'll take care of her. Your pay is that basket." He said pointing to the one Pathfinder was carrying.

"The herbs are for my own use." Pathfinder said as he started to walk away. "Well, I'm going home."

"It was nice meeting you Jack. Have a good day." Shirou shook Jack's hand before attempting to catch up with Pathfinder.

Jack looked at the retreating figures of the two Vance knights and smiled._"They're good kids."_

* * *

A nest of candles rested next to journal and provided adequate light for the writer. The writer's hand moved diligently in the candlelight and left black signatures on the pages of the journal. The writer, Shirou Emiya, concentrated as he wrote everything that he observed today down on the page. He found out this world did have magic or at least magical creatures. The creature, Melona, was the only one that he had encountered so far and by far one of the most testing opponents.

_"She'll definitely be a nuisance later." _Shirou thought as he scribbled some more observations down. _"Her ability to pull herself back together and her ability to regenerate makes her almost like my counter in this world."_

Shirou's grip on the pen tightened. _"She could probably be destroyed by a Noble Phantasm like Gae Bolg or __Broken Phantasm__ like Caladbolg II. She may be strong, but she isn't invulnerable. I've seen better."_

The redhead's eyes narrowed when he remembered something very important. He remembered...that he still couldn't trace any of the Noble Phantasms. If he could, he likely would have used Bakuya and Kanshou in his battle against Melona. Along with the inability to trace them Shirou also found out today that he couldn't sense magical creatures until they were literally right on top of him.

_"Maybe there is an issue with my circuits." _Shirou pondered. _"I can't think of anything else wrong so I have to assume that is the problem. Now the question is...how do I fix that?"_

With a sudden motion Shirou's hand accidentally knocked over the ink bottle he was using for his journal and spilled it onto the floor. The black ink quickly spread across the wooden ground and drenched the journal while it was at it.

_"..." _Shirou palmed his face at this. _"I really need a desk in here."_

* * *

_**"You're late."**_

Melona pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled sharply before glaring at her the _boss_, who was appearing as a flame in front of her. She was not happy. A few hours ago, her battle with that red haired brat was interrupted. It was so much fun fooling with that idiot boy that she had completely forgotten what she was even supposed to do in the first place. After that, well, it took her few hours to remember her task and another hour or so to actually do it. In short, she was late.

"Yeah, well, I got distracted." Melona answered while looking around at the swampland around her.

_**"Is that your idea of an excuse?"**_The flame flared._**"How pathetic. I expected more from an expert liar like you."**_

Melona puffed her cheeks out childishly. "I'm not lying! I got distracted fighting this Vance knight! He did some pretty amusing things."

The flame shrunk like it wasn't interested. _**"Like?"**_

"He pulled swords out of thin air." Melona said, amused. "Oh, he could smell me as well. He knew I wasn't human from the very beginning."

_**"Interesting, but irrelevant."**_The flame flickered. _**"While he may become a danger in the future, he is not a current threat. Keep your eyes on the prey not the horizon.**_

Melona waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. "

_**"He is to be left alone until I decide how to deal with him." **_The flame disappeared.

With the flame gone, Melona felt a smile creep onto her face. She would obey orders for now but if she ever happened upon that red haired brat again, then being late would be well worth it. She promised to herself that next time would be much more pleasurable. Next time, he wouldn't get away. And next time she would figure out what that golden thing around him was.

* * *

A/N (Now with titles)

**_Story Related:_**

**Long Update ****Periods:**

As you may know, it has taken more than a month get the last two chapters out. This is due to the fact that this story is very difficult to write at the moment because the canon has started yet. It will gradually get easier as time goes by and as it starts to move towards the canon. The next update likely won't take a month to write.

**Melona v.s Shirou:**

In a way, Melona is like his natural enemy in this world. If Shirou could only trace normal weapons than Melona would be a counter to him as most of his methods would be ineffective against her. That being said, the Noble Phantasms that can either destroy her with one shot, designate her, or halt her ability to regenerate would the best ones to use against her. So, this time around Melona had the advantage.

Nyx is in this story but she will appear later.

_**Other Things: **_

**More FSN stories?:**

Maybe, it all depends on how this story goes. So, far everything seems to by fine so I'm leaning towards yes. I actually have two ideas, but I don't think either one of them will go well with other people. I'll share one of them with you: FSN x Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku wo Ketsui Shimashita.

Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku wo Ketsui Shimashita (_I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job) _was an anime during the Fall 2013 Anime season. I was thinking of writing a story with the Heroic Spirits having a job, like Gilgamesh being a janitor (Sanitation Engineer). It could possibly turn out to be hilarious...but I have several doubts.

**Story Requests:**

I do take story requests AND story ideas. I have that on my profile as well. If you have either I will carefully consider every request.

Questions, comments, or concerns?


	4. Chapter 3

A white haze loomed over the room like a storm cloud. It was sad to say that the smoke was the most pleasing part of the room, and that was really saying something. The rest of the room looked like the laboratory of a mad scientist, or an alchemist, or a necromancer, or even a witch doctor. In addition to the laboratory look, the walls were lined with shelves filled with murky, eerie vials as well as wicked looking supplies. The room also had multiple tables that served as operation surfaces, if the stains from the patient's fluids were anything to judge by.

Needless to say it was not a nice room to be in.

"Do you really have to smoke while you do this? Can't you do that when you're done?" Shirou asked nervously, while sitting shirtless on a blood stained table.

The mad scientist, necromancer, alchemist and/or witch doctor himself looked up with disinterested golden eyes. Pathfinder, the Vance knight medic, sat behind his desk with a pipe hanging out of his mouth and Shirou's chart in front of him. As Shirou found out twenty minutes ago, it seemed that the tall white haired male was the head medic for the Vance knight. A job that caused him to be rather inactive when compared to his comrades.

"Don't lose your head cherry top." Pathfinder said dismissively and puffed his pipe. "I hate tobacco, and these herbs have medical benefits. Trust me, I'm a doctor."

_"For some reason that doesn't assure me one bit." _Shirou's eyebrow twitched and his nose crinkled at the smell of the smoke. It smelled like coriander, only bitter. However, that smell was easily eclipsed by a more rustic scent: death. The whole room smelled like death, but the scent was mostly concentrated at the table next to Shirou. Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, the table had a large cloth covering an object on top of it.

"That is Herbert." Pathfinder spoke up with a smirk, apparently noticing that Shirou was eyeing the large object. "He... drank the wrong vial."

_"A vial of what?" _Shirou shivered. _"And what is with that smirk?"_

"Or at least I think he did." Pathfinder continued before stroking his chin. "The one he drank might have been the right one. They both could have been deadly." The white haired male nodded. "Yeah, that was it. So, I guess I should start labeling my mixtures now."

_"Oh boy."_

"Now, where was I? Oh yeah, I was examining ruby locks."

Shirou sighed and and shook his head. The circumstances that lead to this situation were rather, well, strange. When Shirou returned home, the cut that he got from Melona hadn't healed completely and it was big enough for most to see it. When Count Vance saw it he had a fit and ordered Shirou to not only see the Vance family doctor, but also the guard medic. It was a complete shift from the normally indifferent and somewhat distant Count Vance that everyone knew.

_"Yesterday was a weird day to begin with. I really shouldn't be surprised that another weird thing happened." _Shirou thought, before looking at the murky vials over on the shelves against the walls. _"This stuff looks like poison. Ah, now I understand."_

"Well, you're fine." Pathfinder said leaning back in his chair and taking another puff. "There were no traces of poison in the wound and its healed already. Your body is in peak condition so I'd say you're fine. You're chart is quite impressive."

Shirou groaned and face palmed. So basically, both of these checkups were for nothing. They had no other purpose other than to tell him what he already knew. Well, that was four hours of his life that he wasn't going to get back. They were also four hours of his life that he could have spent researching the creature he encountered yesterday. He had a feeling in his gut that another encounter with Melona was just over the horizon, and this time he will be prepared.

"Um... I forgot to ask yesterday, but did you and Jack find the other missing people?" Shirou asked while scratching the back of his head. He meant to ask when they got back but he was whisked to the doctor so fast he didn't have time.

"Yes we did. They were in bad shape but were otherwise alive." Pathfinder said lazily. "I gave them an ointment that speeds up regeneration but stings like all kinds of hell."

"Sounds like a handy mixture." Shirou commented while putting his shirt on. "Are you a medicine man or something?"

The white haired male shook his head. "I like to think of myself as more of a shaman, but a medicine man isn't wrong I guess." He puffed his pipe. "My parents were witch doctors and taught me everything they knew."

"Witch doctors?" Shirou quirked an eyebrow. He knew what it was, but he wasn't sure if the meaning of the word was the same.

"Aye." Was the lazy response. "Witch doctors have many roles that they can fill. However, we specialize in treating aliments caused by witches." Was the not so lazy response. "But, even among the witch doctors back home, my methods have always been... unique."

_"Oh really?"_

Pathfinder sighed. "You're free to go." The medic's eyes suddenly lit up. "Unless, of course, you want to test something for me. I guarantee you that it is safe... for the most part."

"No thank you!" In a red blur Shirou zoomed out of the room leaving an astonished Pathfinder behind. It seems he was finally catching up to Elina.

A moment went by before Pathfinder sighed and puffed his pipe. He lost more test subjects that way. He really needed to change his pitch and it was pretty obvious what he was doing now wasn't working. Maybe, leaving out the part of it being mostly safe would do the trick.

* * *

Shirou whistled as he walked down the hallway to the library. He was in pretty high spirits despite the fact that only moments ago Pathfinder had tried to get him to test... something. He didn't really know what Pathfinder wanted him to do and he really didn't care. Shirou would rather fight a hoard of Dead Apostles than go back there. The room itself was pretty off putting, and Pathfinder's questionable medical skills didn't help either. The fact he poisoned a patient didn't exactly scream professional.

_"Well, that is one room I never want to go back to." _Shirou thought as he entered the hallway that had Leina's and Elina's rooms. He smiled when all the memories of the good times he had down here flooded his mind._"Been a while since I've been down here. It's as peaceful as I remember."_

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" A shrill cry cut through the air like a knife.

Shirou stopped, scowled, and sighed. "Yep, saw that coming. This world just likes to prove me wrong."

The shout came from Elina's room, the one closest to where he was. He could tell because the voice nearly shattered his eardrums into billions of pieces. Elina had always been the most vocal of the Vance children, more than Claudette, and much more than Leina.

_"Let's see what is going on." _Shirou thought and peeked his head into Elina's room.

Elina was standing, arms folded, in front of a kneeling girl who was saying something but not loud enough for Shirou to hear. His eyes shifted towards the back of the room were the rest of Elina's maids were gathered, surely cowering at the sight of Elina's tantrum. This 'tantrum' was actually just Elina's superiority complex at its best. A fact that Shirou was quite aware of despite her never showing it for her family to see.

"Now, let's try this again." Elina said much quieter and calmer tone than before. "What did I ask you to get?"

The maid, the one kneeling in front of her, whimpered and once again muttered something too quiet for Shirou to hear. He was pretty sure she was apologizing though. However, whatever the maid said just seemed to tick Elina off even more.

"Speak up! I can't hear you!" Elina growled, yeah, she was in a mood.

The girl flinched at either the volume of Elina's voice or the sharpness of her words.

"I... I-I'm sorry." The girl whimpered just loud enough for Shirou to hear it this time. "I... I didn't k-know that it was go-goat's milk."

"Well, learn the difference!" Elina snapped. "Seriously! You are so useless! Maybe I should fire you right now!"

"No!" The girl cried quite loudly despite how quiet she was just a moment ago. "I mean... you don't have to do that."

"Why?" Elina said simply, "Who gave _you _the right to boss _me _around!? Whoever did was gravely mistaken!"

"But I..."

"Silence!" Elina screamed. "That is the last straw! You're fire-OW!"

Before she could finish that statement, a hand came down on Elina's head. The blow wasn't strong enough to cause any real damage, but it was firm and it certainly hurt. The blonde girl hissed and held her head before she spun around to face her assaulter.

"Who dares...!" She started to snarl but stopped dead in her tracks.

When she turned, she found a very displeased Shirou standing there. He was looking down at her with a disappointed look. However, it took her a few moments before she seemed to realize that he was giving _her _that look. He never gave her _that _look. _That _look was one that in an instant, she came to fear and one she dreaded.

"O-Onii-chan." She unknowingly stammered.

"Hi…" He offered, displeasure present even in that one word. "Are you going to fire me too?" Elina flinched. "Or would you rather I show myself to the door?"

"N-no. I..." She stopped, there was nothing she could say. She'd been caught.

Shirou crossed his arms. "We'll talk about this later." Elina flinched again but nodded sadly. He turned to the other maids. "You're free to go. I'll get Elina's milk."

With that said, the maids and Shirou left the room, leaving a stunned Elina standing there. She couldn't believe what just happened even though it _literally _just happened. Maybe it was the shock, or is it because she hadn't been scolded in a while… but she knew what it really was. Her brother was very kind to her and not once did he give her such look. Sure, he did scold her and he did scowl at her, but he never gave her a look like _that._

_"Was he... mad at me?"_

* * *

A few hours had passed since the incident with Elina and everything had really, _really _quieted down. It was quieter now than it was before Shirou scolded Elina and it was actually quite disturbing. It was only this quiet around here at night and/or when something bad happened, and in this case it seemed to be the latter. The entire estate was as quiet as a graveyard and not a single soul dared to break the silence.

The only place that seemed to be unaffected by the silence was Shirou's shed/workshop. Shirou himself was inside and looking at a book he found in the library, _Orsen-Well's Bestiary, _a compendium of beasts of this world. It was the first step to discovering the weakness of that annoying pink haired slimy woman.

Shirou sat on the floor and after carefully examining the contents of each page flipped. He really needed a desk in here.

_"Abarimon, nope. Aspidochenlone... cool but no." _Shirou thought, _"Geez, none of them look anything like her. They aren't slimy."_

Shirou's search for the species of the mystery creature was fruitless so far. Melona was slimy, pink and moist, but none of the creatures so far matched that description. There were a few that matched the description partly but lacked the other necessary features. At this point he was more in interested in looking at all of the creatures as a whole rather than looking for a specific one.

_"The beasts in here are a lot like the ones in the Medieval Bestiaries." _Shirou noted, having read a few of them himself and fought the beasts themselves. _"A few of them I've never seen before, but they're similar for the most part."_

Even though Shirou was focused on the book, his eyes were slowly drifting towards a common kitchen knife placed in the corner. The knife had been there since yesterday and was a part of an experiment Shirou came up with. He'd been living in this world for fifteen years and had yet to figure out of this world had Gaia, the planet's will to survive. As far as Shirou could tell, the answer to that was either no OR Gaia didn't have a strong presence in this world.

_"I think that at my current level I can keep that knife here for a week, as long as Gaia doesn't interfere." _Shirou noted before looking back down at his book. _"If that knife dissipates before a week is up then Gaia exists. If it doesn't than Gaia is either weak or doesn't exist here."_

The experiment would be finished soon enough, but there was another matter that needed attention: the Noble Phantasm. He learned a while ago that every time he traced them, a little more of them appeared each time. However, the amount gained required him to reinforce his eyes to see it. So progress was only millimeters of difference and it would be a long time before he could trace an entire Noble Phantasm. However, he could still trace normal weapons and he assumed he could trace the _unusual _weapons like the Black Keys.

_"All in good time." _Shirou thought simply before taking out his journal to record information that the bestiary provided. _"Now, back to business."_

* * *

A few had passed since the incident with Elina and everything was back to normal, at least for the most part. However, there were a few peculiar things as well, such as Elina going out of her way to avoid Shirou and Leina being more vocal than usual. To anyone who spent a lot of time in the estate, those two occurrences were among the weirdest and knew that this was just the beginning. After all, weird things travel in packs around here.

It was the middle of the afternoon and rays of the afternoon sun were shining through the large windows of the dinning room. The light illuminated the long cloth covered table in the middle of the room as well as the fine glasses, porcelain plates, and clean silverware. Regardless of the time, the dinning room was a lovely room to be in.

Maria and Shirou sat at the north end of the table. Maria was wearing a simple white dress and Shirou was wearing his body armor, like usual. He felt no reason to take it off since he was usually going on tasks anyways.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Maria asked and knitted her fingers together.

Shirou sighed. "Ah, well, I was thinking about going on a journey in year or two from now."

Maria nodded. "I can understand that." She said simply. "You have been cooped up in the estate for fifteen years."

A smile played at Shirou's lips. He was glad that Maria understood, if he asked Count Vance he would have been rejected instantly. The aging count probably would have made a clever excuse to go with it as well. Count Vance was predictable like that.

"So, what do you think?" Shirou asked.

"You have my blessing. I think having a person as kind and helpful as you going around would be good." Maria replied with a sincere smile. "You don't really have to ask Earl. When you're ready to go, just go and I'll smooth things out with Earl." She finished with an amused smirk.

The redhead laughed. Yeah, that was definitely something that he expected Maria to say. It was no secret that Maria was a little rebellious and she often did things without Count Vance's consent or when he told her not to do something, but she did it anyways. That was just the kind of person that she was. However, Shirou couldn't shake the feeling that Maria's rebelliousness would have a price to pay one day.

"Thank you Ms. Maria. As always, you've been a big help."

"No problem Shirou, but I want you to make me a promise."

"Yes?"

Maria smiled gently. "Promise me that you'll help as many people as you can along the way."

That was when Shirou saw it, the image of his adopted father, Kiritsugu Emiya standing right next to Maria, smiling. Maria and Kiritsugu were so much alike yet so different that it hurt to even think about it. He noticed their similarities a long time ago, but now it appeared that they had something else in common. It was clear their methods were different but they had the same interests.

"Thank y-"

At that moment a loud thud resonated within the room and both Maria and Shirou turned to see a maid collapsed on the floor. The maid herself was young, no older than thirteen, she had shoulder length brown hair, a well developed yet surely still developing body and wore the standard maid uniform only in a smaller size. All in all, she was quite attractive and she _still_ had yet to bloom. For an odd reason she looked familiar, yet so unfamiliar.

"Oh dear." Maria said in an unnaturally lady-like manner. She even put a hand on her cheek and frowned. "Poor thing. Shirou, be a dear and take her to Jasper. He should be in the medic room."

However, as she said that Shirou had already gotten up, scooped the girl up and ambled as fast as he could out of the room. "Way ahead of you Ms. Maria." He said as he disappeared from sight.

"That's my boy. He's already reading my mind."

Shirou's eyebrow twitched as he stood in front of the door to the room that he hoped he wouldn't have to ever see again: the medic's room. But here he was, standing outside the room while carrying an unconscious maid bridal style in his arms. No big deal, it was just a normal day in the life of Shirou Emiya-Vance. But that didn't mean that it wasn't awkward and that look from passers-by weren't any less piercing. Although, carrying an unconscious woman like that would warrant stares.

_"I really hope Claudette doesn't see this. She'll have my neck if she does." _Shirou thought impatiently.

As if on cue the door opened and a disheveled Pathfinder came into view. He looked terrible with a capital T. His snow white hair was now spotted with marks as black as coal, and he had similar spots all over his body and armor. His eyes were bloodshot had big raccoon-like rings around his eyes, not under his eyes but _around _his eyes. Essentially, he looked like a dalmatian with raccoon eyes.

"May I help you?" Pathfinder asked in a surprisingly neutral tone.

"Yeah, this girl she..." Shirou started before Pathfinder hand up shot up to stop him.

"Say no more. What you do with the maids in your free time is none of my business." The white haired male said, confusing Shirou. "Bring her in."

Shirou had a pretty good idea what that first sentence was supposed to mean but ignored it in favor of getting this girl help as soon as possible. Pathfinder had stepped aside and Shirou walked in to place the girl on the first table he could find. The room still smelled like death but there were a lot more herbal scents than before so it wasn't as strong. Shirou looked over to see Pathfinder fiddling with some vials and mixing things together.

"What are you doing?"

"My damn job?" Was the sarcastic quip.

Shirou scowled but said nothing. He simply waited for Pathfinder to finish whatever he was doing, and fortunately he didn't have to wait long before the medic produced a green fluid. The medic walked over the maid and literally opened her mouth and poured the fluid down her throat. Shirou was astonished but after a few seconds later the maid opened her eyes to reveal emerald green orbs.

The redhead turned to Pathfinder. "What was in that stuff?"

"The root of a Bedlam Bloomer. It has stamina restoring properties, which was perfect in this case since our maid friend is suffering from exhaustion. I wouldn't expect anything less from Elina's punching bag."

"_So this is who Elina threatened to fire."_ At that time Shirou was more concerned with scolding Elina than memorizing faces. _"I guess Elina has been bullying her for a while if she's this bad off."_

"Speaking of the little brat. I haven't seen much of her lately. You two have a fight or something?"

"She's mad at me."

"For?"

"I punished her for threatening to fire..." That was the moment when Shirou realized he didn't know the girl's name.

"Nyx. Her name is Nyx."

"Where am I?" The said girl now identified as Nyx asked. She literally just came to her senses.

"This is the medic's room. You collapsed and ruby locks carried you here." Pathfinder said as he pointed at Shirou. "If you'll excuse me. I have to check on my supplies in the barracks." With that said he left.

"Th-thank you, Master Shirou." The maid said barely loud enough to be heard.

The redhead smiled. "No problem. I'm glad I could help Nyx."

"Y-you know my name?" The maid flushed, her voice shrill and high pitched.

"Pathfinder just told me. He also told me that Elina's been bullying you for a while now."

Nyx frowned and lowered her head. "Yeah, she has. I need this job so I put up with it."

"Why?"

"My mother is sick." Nyx lowered her had even more. "She doesn't have much time left and... and if I.." She stopped as tears welled in her eyes.

Nyx suddenly felt her self being pulled up. She looked up to see that Shirou had embraced her. Her cheeks flushed red. She could feel his body push up against her own, it was surprisingly muscular, not many teenagers had this much muscle.

"Sorry, if this seems a bit sudden. I just had the urge to hug you, honest. I'm used to calming my sisters down this way." He told her and it was the truth. "I'll help you as much as I can Nyx. I promise."

"R-really?" She asked as he released her from his embrace.

"Yes." He replied honestly. "What is that you need?"

"I-I was saving money for the medicine."

"How much does it cost?"

"One thousand gold. It's extremely rare." Nyx lowered her head. At this point things were looking bleak. She only had four hundred, nowhere near her goal.

"Will this help?" Nyx looked up to see Shirou extending a bag of coins her way. "I have about five hundred."

"Y-yes." A blush spread across Nyx's cheeks. "Th-thank you, but I only have four hundred. There is still one hundred to get."

"Sh-Shirou-onii-chan." A voice resonated.

Both Shirou and Nyx turned to the door to see a red faced Elina standing there. She'd either been either crying, rubbing her face, or working out. She was wearing a sky blue dress, her favorite if Shirou recalled it right.

"Yes?" Shirou asked plainly. He was still kind of annoyed with her.

"I'm sorry… I'm really sorry." Elina whimpered as tears seemed to well up in her eyes.

"I see." Shirou said as he walked up to her and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I forgive you. Although, I would like your help with something."

Elina's eyes lit up and her enthusiasm returned. "Anything!"

"Lend Nyx one hundred gold please." He asked. Normally, he wouldn't have done something like this, but it sounded like Nyx's mother was gravely ill and besides, Elina needed to atone.

"Oh," Elina turned to Nyx, who flinched at her gaze, must be a reflex. "Nyx was her name? Okay, anything for Onii-chan!" She cheered before she skipped out of the room.

"Your sister has one hundred gold just lying around?" Nyx asked.

Shirou chuckled. "Yes she does. If she asks for something, she'll get it without fail."

"Master Shirou."

Said man turned around and was surprised at what he saw. Nyx with the most adorable smile he had ever seen, it was also the first time that he had seen her actually smile. He liked her smile, it really fit her

"Thank you."

Shirou's cheeks flushed red and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "No problem."

At that moment Pathfinder walked into the room and observed what was going on. _"I have the feeling I missed something cheesy."_

* * *

To the reviewer that suggested the story idea, I appreciate the gesture, but I have no clue what the White Knight Chronicles is. It does look like something I would like so I'll look into it.

To the other reviewer, Incest is not my thing.

AN

_**Story Related:**_

**Nyx:**

Yeah, I messed with the timeline right there, but as I have said a few times before, this is an AU. Plus, and wanted to see if I could pull off that Shirou x Nyx moment, it turned out pretty cheesy actually. Although I bet some of you are like:

"Shirou x Nyx! 12/10 would ship!"

Am I right? I also think it's better for Nyx's attraction to grow over time rather than to simply be attracted to someone you barely know. At least that is what I think. I'm not use to writing romance.

**Gaia:**

It was brought up in chapter, but it Gaia's presence has yet to be confirmed in this world. If Gaia is a force in this world will be answered next chapter because I started to run out of steam with this chapter.

**Beta Reader**

My Beta Reader AstralJean has been a big help and these chapters would turn out so well if wasn't such a big help. He's been an awesome beta reader so far so give credit where credit is due.

**_Non-Story Related:_**

**Akame Ga Kiru**

AGK is by far my favorite manga. It got an anime a few days ago and I'm impressed by how well it turned out. This is definitely a category that I'm going to write a story with in the future. I think it needs more stories, but I don't think it needs stories where Naruto can use 3 teigus at once. No thank you

**Naruto Stories?:**

Likely not. Personally, I have no problems with Naruto as a series, I do, however, have issues with the crossover fanfictions that walk over the other series just to build Naruto up. You know what I mean: making him godlike, decreasing the power level of the universe he's in, giving him someone OP (Overpowered). I'm sorry, but I can't stand that. Now if it's a good story, I can overlook somethings.

However, I won't leave a bad review just because I don't like how the story is set up. I won't go out of my way to point out things I don't like so I just move on and be done with it.

If I ever do write a story with Naruto, it likely won't have Naruto or Sasuke in it. I like Itachi though, so it would probably be about him.

If you disagree with me that's fine and you're entitled to that. Let's just agree to disagree then.

**Preview:**

Below are a possible scenes from the possible story I mentioned last chapter. AstralJean helped with a bit and the quality is pretty low because were just trading possible scenes with each other. If they seem crude and if some characters of OOC that is probably why.

Before you ask, "Who is Zane?", I'll answer it. He's an OC, my OCs are always side characters by the way. He has a personality similar to a mixture of Miya (Sekirei), Aneko (Highschool DxD), Itachi (Naruto), and Vergil (DMC). He specializes in illusion magic and he has vast amounts of magical power.

_Take 1:_

_"Wait, you want me to what?"- Gilgamesh  
"You heard me, slap yourself blondie." - Zane *Still smiling*  
"Why?"- Gilgamesh  
"Ah, you're a 'king' after all, and the only one worthy of touching one is another king.." - Zane *still smiling*  
"I refuse! How dare you even suggest thing you filthy mongrel!" - Gilgamesh  
"Okay, I guess you don't want this job then. We're the only place that will hire you blondie." - Zane  
"...I hate you."_

_Take 2:_

_"..."- Archer  
"Hello, there sir. I'm the manager, Zane Endsworth, and this is the store butt monkey-I mean janitor, Blondie the princess."- Zane  
"...I hate you." -Gilgamesh  
"Hate? What a naughty word to use. Maybe I should punish you."  
"..."- Archer *walks away*  
"Have a nice day sir, come again." - Zane.  
"Where are you going?"- Gilgamesh  
"To get a camera." - Archer_

_Take 3:_

_"C-calm down Gilgamesh I didn't mea-"- Shirou  
"Shut up mongrel! What does a proud woman like Saber see in you when she could have the King of Kings!" Gilgamesh declares with closed eyes.  
He opens them up and sees Saber standing next to Shirou who is doing his best to not laugh.  
Sabar calmly stares at Gilgameh, take out some food, eats it, throws the trash on the ground and say. "Clean up this mess... King of Janitors"  
Gilgamesh is close to fainting.  
Zane comments. "More like a king of red butt apes"  
Gilgamesh's soul starts leaving his body._

_Take 4:_

_"What is it mongrel?!"  
"Oh nothing, just keep doing your job janitor boy." Lance throws a piece of gum on the floor and walks to the counter to check on something while laughing.  
Gilgamesh grits his teeth but then a light bulb appears above his head. He gains a smile filled with evil.  
Lancer walks back to the exit but suddenly slips on the floor and slides straight into a wall, head first. He screams "What the hell?!"  
He looks back and sees a whistling Gilgamesh put a sign, "Be careful, slippery floor"  
"You basta-rd! It's your fault!" Screams Lancer with a bleeding head.  
"Oh I don't understand what you're talking about I'm just doing my job. Don't blame you inability to read on others... *evil smirk*... you dog."  
Gilgamesh walk away laughing.  
Lancer smirks "So that's how you gonna play it you golden pri-ck! I'll show you!"_

_"Oh my, it seems that I have to lay down the rules for you." Zane says from behind he counter a creepy smile gracing his face. "I won't have any tomfoolery in my store unless I allow it."_

"Well sh-it. I just recovered from the that damn Repeating Death Illusion." Gilgamesh

"What?" Lancer looks at Gilgamesh. "Is that bad?"

"Here, let me show you and you can figure it out for yourself."

Questions, comments, concerns?


	5. Chapter 4

The Queen's Continent was a rather large landmass with varied geography and completely surrounded by water. The landscape was dominated by forests and mountains, but it does possess a few other notable landforms. One of these landforms is the huge swamp that lays to the north-east, and the desert that lays to the south-east. There didn't seem to be much other variation in the geography besides those two things and a few rivers here and there, but not much else. However, what was really strange was that the swamp didn't appear to be located near any body of water, and the location itself was pretty strange and abnormal.

Shirou tapped his pen against the table and sighed. _"I was unaware that the Vance Territory was located so deep in the north-east. It will take me a while to get to any of the major cities." _He noted before putting an 'X' on the map. _"The closest city is Sheldan Free City, so I think I'll stop there first."_

"I found a map." A small female voice could be heard. Shirou looked over his shoulder to see Leina holding an armful of rolled up maps. "I found quite a few actually."

"Good job." Shirou praised her with a kind smile. "Set them down on the table please."

Leina obeyed and placed the maps on the table like Shirou had said. Shirou found that Leina was probably the most helpful out of his three sisters to him, but that is not saying that Claudette and Elina weren't helpful too. Claudette and Elina simply had...circumstances. Claudette was often too busy to assist him in any way and Elina... it wasn't wise to stroke her ego too much. Leina was quiet, didn't get in the way, and completed whatever task she was given. It seemed that she was always happy to be of assistance.

"You know," Shirou started as he rolled open one of the new maps. "you don't have to help me with this. Why don't you just run along and play?"

"That's alright. I'm fine doing this." Leina replied. She must've went to look for more maps because her voice sounded far away. "I finished my studying and lessons so I have the whole day off."

Shirou sighed and nodded. He felt both sorry for Leina and guilty that she was spending her free time helping him plan his journey. It was no secret that Leina had very little time to do little girl things because she was often being groomed to be the next leader of the Vance family. There was nothing wrong with training her, but training her too much wasn't exactly a good thing either. She needed time to be a child and actually do child things or else she might grow up to be a boring adult. That was the last thing that anyone wanted for her.

"If you say so." Shirou said before turning his full attention back to the map. _"Now, about this swamp."_

Shirou's golden eyes drifted to the large swamp located to the east of the Vance Territory. It was labeled _Marshlands _and was represented by a black splotch that looked more like an ink stain. He couldn't tell if that was how swamps were represented or if the cartographer made a mistake, or if it was done like that to look off putting. Regardless of the reasons or intentions, the swamp was not an area that Shirou put high on his list of places to visit, but he did want to see it for himself.

_"I'll have to ask around to see if anyone knows more about it." _Shriou concluded. _"It'd be foolish to venture into a place like that blindly."_

At that moment Leina came back in with only two maps as opposed to the armful she had a while ago. She dutifully placed the maps where she had put the other ones. Shirou took a quick glance at the maps, but didn't find anything significant about them other than that they were larger than the ones brought previously. Nonetheless, every little bit helped and it would be foolish to turn away help. It would also be pretty rude to Leina to disregard her efforts despite the fact she didn't have to help out.

"Thanks." Shirou said with a small smile. "I think I'm done for now. I'll look at those two later."

"Okay." Leina said lowly before she sat down in the chair next to Shirou. "What are you doing anyways?"

Shirou glanced at her. "I'm marking locations that I want to go on my journey."

"Journey?" Leina repeated while tilting her head to the side. If only she knew how cute she looked right now. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, but not forever." The redhead replied and rubbed the girl's head softly. "I'll be back. Besides, it's going to be a while before I'm even able to leave."

Leina didn't say anything afterward but Shirou could tell that she was both satisfied and dissatisfied by his answer. She was satisfied that she got an actual answer, but dissatisfied by how vague it was. She obviously wanted a clear answer, an answer that he really didn't have and one that he probably won't have for a long time.

"Well, I got to go to the barracks." Shirou said as he gets out of his chair. "Everyone is supposed to spar today."

"Can I come and watch?" Leina asked in a hopeful voice.

Shirou sighed and shook his head. Oh, he could see the upcoming scolding already. "I guess, but stay safe by watching everything from the side lines and do what Claudette or I tell you."

"Alright!" Leina enthusiastically replied.

* * *

An hour had passed since the recruits sparred with their assigned partners. Since the recruits weren't as seasoned as most of the guard they were assigned partners that only recently became part of the guard themselves to make up for it. However, the sparring itself didn't go off without a hitch. A certain white haired medic suffered multiple injuries and had to retire to go patch himself up. Aside from that one incident everything went pretty well: Leina was well behaved and stuck close to Claudette, said captain didn't scold Shirou for bringing Leina to the sparring, and Shirou himself got to see firsthand what the other recruits could do. Everyone, except Pathfinder, had a decent session

Currently, Shirou was sitting in the library, his journal out in front of him and a pen in his hand. He was making notes of the different fighting styles of the recruits… for future reference of course.

_"Claudette did a pretty good job finding a mix of different fighting styles and skills." _Shirou noted while looking over the very detailed notes he managed to write. _"A lot of potential here, I guess that is why she's the captain."_

It was quite clear that Claudette picked everyone, except Shirou, for something they brought to the team. Pathfinder, for example, had both superior medical skills and a powerful dual wielding style. His purpose was to train the other medics. In contrast Amber, his sparring partner during the session, was skilled in a variety of different weapons, but lacked any other notable skills and her only purpose was to be a fighter. The Vance Knights took in anyone who wanted to join as long as they could pass physical and mental tests. However, Claudette could also pick anyone she wanted if she felt them to be fit to join, which is what she did with this batch.

_"That's my captain." _Shirou chuckled lowly in case anyone was around to hear.

"My, my what are you doing?" An amused voice asked from behind him.

Shirou jumped a little in surprise but quickly recovered and looked over his shoulder to see Maria. She was wearing that lavender colored dress she loved so much, in fact, it was probably the only dress she actually did like. It was no secret that Maria was a tomboy, a beautiful tomboy at that, but a tomboy all the same. It wasn't that she didn't like dresses themselves, she just didn't like wearing them. It was a shame though, she always looked so nice in them.

"Good afternoon Ms. Maria." Shirou greeted with a nod. "I'm making notes of the sparring we had back at the barracks. I've noticed that everyone seems to know what they're doing, but they all lack proper experience."

Maria smirked as she walked over before sitting down in the chair opposite to Shirou. "Well of course! The point of a recruit is to be molded into what you want them to be."

"I guess you're right." Was the simple response.

Maria tapped her finger against the table rhythmically. "So, is the planning for your trip going well?"

"Yeah." Shirou replied before he scribbled something down in his journal. "I have all the locations mapped out and most of the servants offered to help me get supplies. The only thing I need now is money."

"I'd be happy to supply you with an adequate amount." Maria offered with a smile.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think it will be needed." Shirou declined politely. "Besides, I've been taking more jobs than usual and Pathfinder also pays me to bring back any herbs I happen to find."

Maria nodded. "So, you seem to have a pretty good idea of what you're doing huh?"

"I guess, but there is one thing that kind of bugs me."

"And what would that be?" Maria asked while tilting her head in confusion. Well, at least Shirou now knows where Leina got her cute manners from.

"A swamp." Shirou stated plainly. "There's a large swamp in the west, now normally I wouldn't pay much attention to it, but its size and location are... abnormal."

"Don't go near it." Maria almost hissed. Her face had no signs of hostility, but the disgustingly sweet smile on her face made up for it.

"Maria, are you-"

"I mean it Shirou." She interrupted him with the threatening smile still on her face. "Don't go near that place."

The redhead arched an eyebrow. This was a complete shift in the way that Shirou was used to Maria acting. She was never this menacing, except when she fought with Count Vance or disciplined her daughters. Leina and Elina never disobeyed their mother, "Alright. I won't go near the swamp." Shirou said, before leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. "But, you have to tell me why."

"It's forsaken." Maria replied surprisingly fast. "That swamp rejects all life, nothing grows there and anything that does will just wither and die."

Shirou narrowed his eyes. A place that rejects life? That sounded really fishy. It wasn't that he didn't believe it, but he has his doubts. Maria had never lied to him in the past and was always helpful, so he would heed her warning. However, he felt there was more to it than she was telling him. Something like that… is never as simple as it seemed.

"Okay, I won't go near the swamp." Shirou said with a sigh, "I won't only because you asked me not to."

"Thank you." Maria said, clearly relieved. "I can rest easy now." She suddenly stood up. "Well, I have to go now as I have some things to do. I'll leave you to your own devices."

The redhead gave a nod and leaned back in his chair as Maria left. When she was gone Shirou sighed again and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes narrowed when he remembered something from his battle with Melona. The slimy creature mentioned something about a _Swamp Witch… _and there just happened to be a lifeless swamp? That was way too suspicious.

_"A lifeless swamp for a Swamp Witch." _Shirou thought with a frown on his face. _"Great, another headache I'll have to deal with in the future."_

* * *

A lone candle illuminated the normally dark shed with a low orange light and shined on Shirou who was sitting behind a desk and holding a knife in his hand. The knife, or a dagger was pretty insignificant and the only thing that seemed to be unique about it was its sharpness. However, there was much more to it than that. This knife was the one that he traced earlier in order to test Gaia's presence in this world. At the moment, the knife had been in this world for seven days, three hours and twenty-seven minutes.

An eyebrow was arched when the blade suddenly disappeared. _"So it seems that Gaia is really weak in this world or is simply nonexistent." _Shirou noted before he traced another knife. _"I figured it was something like this."_

The door suddenly opened and a girl walked in who seemed oddly familiar. She had long light brown hair with a single emerald eye being visible while the other was being covered by her hair. It took Shirou a minute to realize that it was Nyx, she looked so much better now that he almost didn't recognize her. Adding to the dissimilarities, Nyx wasn't wearing the maid's uniform he was used to see her in as it was replaced with a brown dress and leather shoes. However, despite how much healthier she looked or what she currently wore, one thing that never changed about Nyx was her hairstyle.

"Oh, hey Nyx." Shirou greeted with a smile. "You're looking a lot better."

Nyx smiled and nodded. "Thank you." She said. "The mixtures Mr. Pathfinder gave me really helped."

"That's good to hear." Shirou nodded. "How is your mother? Is she doing well?

"Yes, she is." Nyx stated happily. "Mr. Pathfinder said she'll be on her feet in a few days if she continues to take her assigned medicine."

"That's good." Shirou said. "I also noticed that you're not wearing your maid uniform. Is it dirty or something?"

"Nope." The young girl shook her head. "I don't work here anymore."

The traced knife in Shirou's hand dropped to the ground with a clank. Did he hear her correctly? She wasn't a maid anymore? His first instinct was to blame Elina because it was probably her fault. Although that wasn't really fair to Elina, considering she had been on her best behavior lately.

"You don't work here anymore?" Shirou asked to which Nyx nodded. "Why? What happened?"

Nyx smiled. "You." She replied with light blush on her cheeks. "Now that my mother is getting better I don't need to work here to pay for medication anymore."

"Oh," Shirou sighted in relief and leaned back in his chair. "so what are you going to do now?"

"Mother and I are moving to a farm village south of here so we can find a job there." Nyx answered as she looked around at the shed. "I just came here to say goodbye before we leave."

"Ah, well I guess this is goodbye then." Shirou replied awkwardly. He walked up to her and extended his hand. "Good luck Nyx."

"You too." Nyx replied taking his hand and shaking it, but when Shriou tried to pull it away he was surprised when she suddenly pulled him in instead and hugged him tightly. It took him only few moments to recover from the sudden, but pleasant shock and hug her back. "Thank you… thank you for everything you have done…"

"Um, you don't need to thank me, I really didn't do anything that mu-" Shirou was cut off from finishing his sentence when Nyx suddenly released her hug and instead placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Don't say that! If it wasn't for you rescuing me from Elina that day I would have lost my job, If wasn't for you bringing me to the infirmary when I collapsed during work I could have seriously gotten sick… and finally… if it wasn't for your help in getting the needed money for the medicine… I would have lost my mother… so please don't say that." Nyx then again hugged Shirou tightly.

At first he didn't know how to react to her words, but in the end Shirou only sighed and smiled gently while continuing to hug her.

Few minutes pass and they just stood in the shed, holding each other until Nyx finally broke the embrace, "It's time for me to go… thank you, for everything that you did… Shirou." Nyx said and gave him a small peck on the cheek. She then quickly turned around and left while trying fight down a huge blush from appearing on her face because of what she just did.

Shirou himself was stunned and touched the cheek that Nyx just kissed. He quickly shook his head to reboot his mind before sighing and walking back to his desk. He was sad to see Nyx go. Even though he didn't know her for that long, it was a shame that she had to go so soon. However, it was probably better for Nyx herself in the long run.

"Now, where's my knife?" Shirou wondered while looking around.

However, before anything could become of his search, the shed door opened again and this time Pathfinder stepped in. It looked like he was all healed up since his sparring session earlier, but he still had those large rings around his eyes. Those rings around his eyes were becoming a common occurrence since he had them almost every single day.

"Hey lobster head."

Shirou's eyebrow twitched. Did Pathfinder even remember his name? The medic was always calling him something in reference to his hair color. Shirou ignored it pretty well, but it really did seem like Pathfinder didn't know or remember his name. What was really annoying was that they were frequently paired together, and this wasn't exactly good for teamwork even though it was so petty.

"So, I hear you going on a journey or something." Pathfinder said in his normal indifferent tone. "Is that true?"

"Yes, it is." Shirou nodded.

The white haired male scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I think I have a proposition that will benefit us both."

Shirou's eyes narrowed sharply. If it was anything like taste testing, injecting or scrubbing there was no way in hell Shirou was going to be part of it.

"What kind of proposition?" Shirou carefully asked.

"Nothing life threatening I can a sure you." Pathfinder replied quickly, but awkwardly. That wasn't a phrase he was used to saying.

"Alright, let's hear it." Shirou said. Normally he'd be skeptical about this, but now wasn't the time. He could be skeptical later.

Pathfinder rolled his eyes. "Well, thank you, your majesty for this opportunity." The white haired male quipped sarcastically. "Anyways, this proposition is basically the same deal we already have. You find herbs and I'll pay you for them, but the payment will be different this time."

"What are you suggesting?"

"How about instead of money, I give you some training in herbology and other medical skills." Pathfinder said with a smirk. "However, you have to bring be back a handful of rare herbs of my choosing. Deal?"

Shirou tapped his chin in thought. At face value this deal didn't seem bad to either side, both will benefit. However, by digging beneath the surface one can clearly see that Pathfinder would have the advantage. He had the advantage due to the fact he could pick which herbs he wanted and the possibility of debt to him if the herbs were unattainable. Pathfinder was the one that really benefited from it.

"Alright." Shirou agreed against his better judgement, "These herbs better be real though."

"They are." Pathfinder replied quickly by producing a piece of parchment form his pocket. "Here is the list."

Shirou took the list and read the contents of it. At first glance they all looked like real plants, but a few of them looked pretty outlandish. Shirou wasn't quite sure what an _Impish Nightshade _was, but he was sure it was deadly. Shirou didn't know much about plants so he would have to check on them later to make sure he wasn't going on a wild goose chase later.

"I'll keep my eye out." Shirou said, folding up the parchment and putting it in his pocket. "However, I'm going to look these up. If even one of them is fake then the deal is off." Shirou finished with a sharp glare to get his point across.

"They're real, don't worry." Pathfinder waved him off before he started to leave. "We'll start the first lesson tomorrow, Shirou."

_"Oh so he does know my name. So he's just being rude then." _Was the only thought Shirou could muster in his thoughts before Pathfinder left the shed.

* * *

**Two Years Later**

Shirou inhaled the fresh, clean air as he stood in front of the gate to the rest of the land. It had been two long years of preparing, planning, and training in order to get ready for this day. It was the day that he was going to set out on his long planned journey. He noticed that when he was getting everything he needed for today that the entire estate was unnaturally quiet, almost like he was on his way to his own funeral. However, he soon realized why it was so quiet. When he walked outside, he was greeted by the sight of everyone waiting to see him off on his journey.

It was barely morning and the sun wouldn't be up for a few more minutes, but everyone was there: Leina, Elina, Claudette, Maria, Pathfinder, a lot of the servants, guards and even Count Vance. It was kind of surprising to see the big man himself out there, but apparently Maria smoothed things out a while ago and spent the last two years grooming him for this day. It was a bit cheesy since all of this seemed like something out of a romance novel or a fairy tale, but it was still very touching.

Pathfinder yawned. "It is way too damn early for this."

Claudette turned to glare at him. "Stop whining. You wanted to see him off as well."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to turn into an owl to do it." Pathfinder rolled his eyes.

Everyone else ignored Claudette and Pathfinder's bickering, but Elina would occasionally chuckle at some of the verbal jabs they would trade with each other. Shirou couldn't even hear what they were talking about, but he really didn't care. Claudette and Pathfinder were like oil and water, but that was a story for another day as he was now approached by Maria and Count Vance.

Maria spoke first, "While I'm sad to see you go, I knew this day was unavoidable, so all I can do is wish you luck and safe travels during your journey. Don't forget to write us letters whenever you can and stay out of trouble." She then proceeded to hug him tightly for a few seconds before releasing him and nodding.

"I will." Shirou answered and then turned his attention to Count Vance who just stood there, staring sharply at him.

Maria noticed this and jabbed him lightly (by her standards anyway) with her elbow in his side which caused the Count to sputter for a moment before beginning to speak, "Um… uh…yes. Be sure to not tarnish the Vance name and…uh… stay safe…" he was wincing the entire time when he spoke those words. It was clear as day light that he wasn't happy about this.

Shirou shook his 'farther's' hand and nodded. Best move on and say goodbye to others before the Count changes his mind. Next to say their farewells were Claudette and Pathfinder.

Claudette went up right up to Shirou and shook his hand, "Goodbye brother, remember the training you received here if you ever encounter danger along the road and always remain vigilant… and… uh… don't forget to write, alright?" she muttered the last part so silently that Shirou was barely able to hear it. He smiled at her and brought her in a one arm hug. Claudette at first tensed up but quickly relaxed. When Shirou let go of her, a small, almost completely unnoticeable blush appeared on her face, showing how embarrassed she was from the whole sibling affection.

Shirou then looked at Pathfinder who only smirked and nodded at him, "You watch yourself out there alright? Also, don't forget about the herb collecting."

Shirou, despite how much the tall doctor frightened him, smiled and shook his hand. Afterwards he said his goodbyes to the Vance servants and guards. Many of them were sad to see him go as he was always the most helpful, besides Maria, Vance family member. He always helped the maids and butlers by either doing chores with them around the castle (in secret of course) and often sparred with the guards to help them get better. Not mention all of them had a taste of Shirou's divine cooking so not being able to experience it for quite a while was a serious downer.

"Well, it's time for me to go." Shirou said turning so he would face the whole crowd and slinging over his shoulders a big bag a few of the maids had made for him filled with necessities travelling on the road. "I guess I'll see you all when I get back then."

Everyone started waving at him and Shirou took this as a sign that he could go on his way. However, before he could even take a step he felt a tug on his pants. He looked down to see both Elina and Leina looking at him with curious looks. He was surprised to see them here at all as he hasn't seen his two little sisters for a few days. They both locked themselves in their rooms and besides allowing maids to bring in food they didn't let anyone else to enter.

"Hey you two, what's up?" Shirou rubbed their heads affectionately.

"We want you to take this." Elina said before she pulled out something of her dress pocket. It was necklace that had a small vial filled with plant attached to it, "Mr. Snow told us it attracts good luck." Leina nodded at those words.

Shirou examined the plant and thanks to his training under Pathfinder, identified the plant as aloe. Pathfinder told him that aloe had healing properties and was the ideal treatment for something like a scratch, rash, burn or cut. The white haired medic was a surprisingly good teacher and Shirou learned a lot from him, not as much as he did from Rin though.

"I love it, thank you." Shirou said as he put it on. "Since we're exchanging gifts, I made these for you two."

Shirou reached inside his bag and pulled out two pendants. Both of the blonde girl's eyes lit up when he handed one to each. The pendant Elina got had a long sword shaped jewel at the end of it and the one Leina got had two curved swords crossed together in an X shape. Shirou made them a while back with the help of a few of the servants. They came out much better than he thought they would.

"They're something to hold onto until I come back." Shirou smiled as he hugged them both tightly, before waving to everyone. A few rays of sunlight were peaking over the horizon indicating that the sun has finally started to rise. "Well, it's time for me to go. I guess this is goodbye for now, take care everyone."

The crowd again waved at Shirou as he walked past the gate. It's finally time to see what this world has in store for the young hero!

* * *

**ANs**

_**Story Related-**_

**Anonymous Reviews:**

**raccoonsand-boy**\- Nothing against Gaara, since he's one of the ones I actually like, but I don't think I would be interested in doing that. Gaara's ability to control sand is pretty obnoxious, and that would prove to make him too strong for most of the Queen's Blade cast to handle. So, I have to decline.

There probably won't be characters from the Nasuverse showing up for all of those who were wondering. Unless you count Kiritsugu in the last chapter, but that was more of a cameo than anything else.

**Harem:**

I never said this was a harem. To be honest, that was probably the furthest thing from my mind and I only recently started thinking about that. So, I haven't decided if this going to be a harem or not. If I do decide to do a harem, I'll make it was realistic as possible, so it doesn't make a mess of things latter.

**The Swamp:**

So, it's way to early for Shirou to startle the witch. There's no need to go near the swamp, so don't expect Shirou running into the Swamp Witch anytime soon, but her minions (except Liliana), are still on the table.

**Two Years:**

Why was there a two year skip? Because there was really nothing left to do at Vance Estate. Shirou's met all the notable characters at the estate. Pathfinder's training, in my head, was slow and tedious. I doubt anyone would want to see that. Besides the training, I was drawing a blank on what I could do so...yeah, I was in pretty difficult spot.

_**Non-Story Related:**_

**FSN x AGK:**

Yeah, I'm gonna write a Fate/Stay Night x Akame Ga Kiru story. It's already in the planning phase, but it will be a while before I actually write it. My best estimate would either be when this story is over or when it's almost over. What I have planned so far is very similar to this story it has the same style of rebirth but overall it's a very different story. I'm not really impressed by the AGK crossovers I've seen so far, possibly due to the fact that AGK is always counted as the weaker universe...god I hate that.

_"If the Empire didn't have the Teigu then the Elemental Nations would crush them easily."_

And if you take chakra away from the ninjas what do you get? Dead ninjas that is what you get. Sorry, if that hit a nerve, but it's true and to be frank my patience is really thinning when it comes to that.

Now, before anyone asks let me get a few questions out of the way about this:

_Will Shirou replace Tatsumi?_

\- Nope, Shirou's life is his own. If he replaced Tatsumi that would mean that Shirou would inherit Incursio or they would sent it back to the Revolutionary Army. I don't want either of those two.

_Will Shirou have a Teigu?_

_\- _Yes, he will. However, he won't have any of the ones that have been revealed. It's one that I have created, but I won't reveal what it is until I actually write the story. It isn't OP and it's weaknesses and strengths are quite obvious.

_Can Shirou trace the Teigus?_

_\- _Technically, he shouldn't be able to do that. All the Teigu are made from materials from Danger Beasts, living beings, so he shouldn't be able to trace them. However, he could probably produce a _shell, _a replica with no abilities. Plus, if he could trace the Teigu with their abilities he'd be extremely OP and I won't stand for it.

_Shirou x Esdese?_

\- ...maybe. Now please help yourself to this short.

_"Mom, how did you and dad meet?" _\- Purple  
-sigh- Shirou  
_"It was a wonderful."- _Esdese  
_"It was illegal."- _Shirou  
_"You're father was so aggressive."- _Esdese  
_"More like I was so drunk." - _Shirou  
_"He was so passionate." _\- Esdese  
_"Again, drunk."- _Shirou  
_"Wow, I hope I met someone like dad." - _Purple  
_"Wait...what?" _\- Shirou  
_"That's it honey." _\- Esdese  
_"..."- _Shirou  
_"Oh, how long were you standing there?"- _Esdese  
"..."- Shirou

I don't own Akame Ga Kiru

**Inspiration:**

I've been pretty inspired lately. Ever since I went back and started looking at more obscure series and since this summer season started. This summer season of Anime was pretty good and I have to say that it's given me all kinds of ideas. I'll probably write something with them at some point, but I have a feeling most of them will never have a category here. My favorites this summer were Rokujyoma no Shinryakusha!? (Invaders of the Rokujyoma), Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo ESP, Akame Ga Kiru, and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?


	6. Chapter 5

This chapter has a lot of A/Ns...just a heads up. I also have previews for stories that I had an idea for at the bottom in case you're interested in those.

* * *

Shirou whistled as he walked down the dirt road to Sheldan Free City. It was currently the middle of the afternoon, and three days after Shirou left home on his journey. Those last three days had been pretty uneventful because all Shirou did was walk, and it looked like the same was going to be true for today as well. That was fine as long as Shirou got to Sheldan Free City at some point. It was the first major stopping point in this whole expenditure since it would be an excellent place to restock on supplies, collect information and determine the best routes to take.

_"If only the maps had some kind of scale."_ Shirou thought with a sigh. None of the maps had scales so judging the distance between one place to another was like writing blindfolded. _"I don't imagine I'm too far away at this point."_ The only way to at least guess how much distance he had journeyed so far is by keeping an eye out for an occasional landmark along the road as some of them were drawn on the map.

As he walked, Shirou thought back on the preparations that went into this trip. It took two years to get everything together and that was only possible because everyone pitched in. That really gave him enough breathing room to not only train his body, but his magic as well. His overall strength, however, was still far from what it used to be back in his previous life, but far superior to the strength he had just two years ago. It would be a while before he recovered the full strength he once had. Although, such things were the furthest from his mind right now.

_"I'm really glad that everyone pitched in."_ Shirou thought as he walked down the road, the dirt grinding underneath his boots as he kept his eyes forward, and glancing around from time to time to spot any possible hidden bandits. "_I was kinda surprised that Pathfinder and Claudette helped out so much. Claudette is a good girl at heart, though she does needs to learn relax a bit. Pathfinder on the other hand... I'm not sure what that guy is thinking half the time."_

Shirou cringed as he remembered all the stuff that happened with the white haired medic. There was never a dull moment when Shirou went into to the medic's room to receive herbology and medical training. Pathfinder wasn't a bad teacher, but his teaching methods weren't exactly safe… or humane. The fact that he was well aware of the deadliness of his own mixtures and was still willing to use them on the innocent was definitely a deplorable trait. However, Shirou couldn't deny the skill the medic had or his uncanny ability to either save... or to kill.

_"Sometimes I wonder if that guy's head is on all the way."_ Shirou cringed. _"I can't believe he accidentally poisoned himself. But... a part of me is convinced that he did that on purpose."_

"Excuse me." A voice could be heard not too far from him.

Shirou stopped and looked over the side of the road to see an elderly woman standing next to a cart, with a mule laying on the ground. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. The mule obviously got injured somehow... unless the woman was pulling the mule for some reason. However, putting who was carrying who aside, the real issue was how did he not notice her?

"How did I not see her?" Shirou muttered to himself and arched an eyebrow at her. "Ma'am?"

The elderly woman smiled. "Young man."

Shirou scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Um, were you standing there the whole time?"

"Yes, yes I was." The old woman said, the kind smile still on her face. "I was wondering if you saw me or not. What's with younglings being so distracted these days." She grumbled the last part lowly, but Shirou heard it.

Shirou looked away in embarrassment. This road was pretty much clear of any obstacles that would block vision: trees, big rocks, hills, shrubs, all those things. Maria and Claudette made it a goal to nail it into his head that bandits liked to hide behind objects and ambush unsuspecting travelers. However, in this case the things that someone could possibly hide behind were a tiny tree and a shrub, but hiding a person behind either one would be difficult if not entirely impossible.

"Ah, well, is there any particular reason that you're just standing by the side of the road?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Well, Bertha, my mule, got tired and she decided that she wasn't going to move anymore." The old woman said with a nervous laugh. "And… well… when a mule decides that it doesn't want to do something, it isn't going to do it… plus, this particular mule is exceptionally moody."

Shirou nodded, he knew that feeling that the elderly woman was talking about. Well, a similar feeling, but in Shirou's case it wasn't a mule but a young mare named Maple.

Maple was probably the most difficult animal that Shirou ever had to work with. The young mare was defiant, she was mean, and she spat at Shirou all the time. The redhead hated that horse more than anything else. Well, Shirou could think of a lot of things he hated more than that horse but the point was that Maple was on his bad side.

"Well, where were you heading, if I may ask?" Shirou inquired casually, but kept an eye out in case this was a set up. However, the lack of cover seemed to suggest otherwise.

The old woman lifted a wrinkled finger and pointed in the direction that Shirou was walking. Shirou's eyes shifted to where she pointed and frowned when he saw that there was a forested area coming up, a place where it would be much easier for an ambush. He was almost sure that he was going to get ambushed now, and if he didn't, then it was by sheer luck that he encountered the only old woman that wasn't affiliated with a bandit group.

"My home is just a short distance that way." The old woman said turning back to Shirou with a look that practically screamed 'be a dear and please help me'.

"Then there isn't a problem." Shirou said surely. "I was heading that way anyways so I'm sure I can help you and... Bertha out."

The old woman smiled and the mule made that sound that mules make: a whinny? A bah? A meow? Shirou wasn't an expert on mules but the sound it made wasn't pleasant, but it sounded contempt with Shirou's offer. Well, at least Shirou could live out the rest of his days saying that he impressed a mule named Bertha. If only Claudette could see him now. She'd probably smack him in the back of the head and call him a failure as a Vance, but he wouldn't have expected anything less from his captain.

The old woman laughed. "Haha, I really appreciate this, and it seems that Bertha likes that idea as well!"

"Of course she does. It means less walking for her." The redhead commented earning another round of laughter from the old woman. However, he frowned and his eyes narrowed at the forested area that was just up ahead. "Hmm…"

* * *

Shirou breathed heavily as he shambled forward out of the forested area. The redhead's face was flushed a deep crimson, sweat rolled down his brow, and his Archer esque was drenched. It turns out that pulling a cart, a mule, and an old woman was some tiring work and boy was Shirou tired, but at least he didn't get ambushed like he thought he would. That was really the only thing that he was concerned about, at least at that moment. The burden that he was currently carrying was quite concerning though.

"You having troubles there sonny?" inquired the elderly woman.

Shirou heaved. "J-just a little bit."

At the moment, Shirou was drenched in sweat and wheezing while he pulled the cart by those wooden poles that carts have. To keep a long story short, it ended up being that Shirou had to pull the cart, and the mule, and the old woman as one could clearly see. Why was that? Well, to keep a short part of the story short, Shirou and the old woman were walking in the forest and the woman just happened to twist her ankle. Shirou didn't say anything about it but... she was holding the wrong ankle when she fell to the ground.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Shirou asked in attempt to start a conversation and perhaps gather some information. "Oh, and I didn't get your name. My name is Shirou Va-...Emiya." That was close. He almost let his last name slip.

"Shirou Emiya? Well that is certainly an unusual name around these parts." The old woman commented and butchered the Emiya in the process. "Well, nice to meet you Shirou. My name is Margret and we're currently heading to Circlette Town, my home."

Shirou arched an eyebrow. "Circlette Town? Strange, I haven't seen it on the map."

"Of course you haven't!" Margret proclaimed and thumped her hand on her chest. "Most maps are made by people from Gainos, the Queen's Capital. They don't care about most of the smaller towns over the continent."

Shirou could tell by the way she was speaking that she was quite passionate about this subject. He understood why and didn't blame her if she was angry about it. He couldn't speak from personal experience but it probably felt like they weren't a part of the continent because they weren't important enough to be put on the map. That was perfectly understandable. However, there were people all over that had the opposite feeling to that and wanted to have their privacy. Pleasing everyone is impossible.

"I'm sure you'll make it on the map one day. These sorts of things have a habit of coming to light in time. As the saying goes, 'All things come in good time'." Shirou said reassuringly but had a feeling it would take a long time before that would happen. "Probably."

Shirou heard Margret sigh and she probably shake her head too. He couldn't see her to confirm it though, considering she was sitting on the cart he was currently pulling. "Well, I guess if that is the biggest worry in one's life then everything else is fine."

The redhead nodded in agreement. It was no secret that things could always get worse. "Well, that's the right attitude to have."

"So, what's your story?" Margret asked wanting to change the subject.

Shirou looked over his shoulder slightly but continued pulling the cart. "Well, there isn't much to it. I'm just traveling over the continent, hoping to explore a bit. I don't really have an end destination but I promised that I would return home one day." Shirou said the last part fondly.

"You promised your family, haven't ya?" That wasn't really a question as it was more of a statement.

"Yes ma'am." Shirou said resolutely.

"Heh, that's the spirit! You don't look like the kind of person that would break your promises." The old woman again stated.

"Not on purpose at least." Shirou added that part silently.

At that moment the sight of a town came into Shirou's vision. The town was built along the road and expanded pretty far from the road as well. Despite being what Margret called 'small', this town was decently sized. It wasn't so small that a single blink could cause someone to miss it but at the same time it wasn't so big that it gave off the impression of being a city. It was... comfortable for the lack of a better word. The people walking around and going about their daily lives gave a very welcoming feeling.

"This town doesn't seem that small to me." Shirou stated as he walked further into town and gained some curious looks from the locals along the way. "In fact, I think it's a very comfortable place to live in."

"It sure is, isn't? Our town may not be the biggest, but you'll certainly feel welcomed when you step inside, and there are certainly many things you could do around here!" Margret folded her arms and gave a prideful smile.

_"It's not as nice as the Vance Estate but she doesn't need to know that."_ Shirou thought in his head.

However, something did seem to damper the beauty of the town and it was something that was painfully obvious. From the very moment that Shirou walked into the town he noticed that everyone was looking at him, and these looks weren't exactly the most pleasant ones. Almost everyone was glaring at him like he was some sort of abomination, which was pretty strange considering Margret was from this town and was a nice person, and that everyone seemed fine until he stepped inside the town.

"Hey Margret," Shirou called while remaining aware of everything around him. "is there any particular reason why everyone is glaring at me like they hate my guts?"

"Eh, don't worry about it. The men around here are cowards so they'll probably leave you alone if you ignore them long enough." Margret said nonchalantly with a shrug.

Shirou grimaced. "I'm not worried about them." He said knowing full well that the women would pose a bigger threat then the men.

"Haha, don't worry about the ladies either! I'm sure when they see what a kind and charming young man you are their sour moods will quickly change! By the way, you can set the cart down here." Margret said as she hopped off the cart which caused Shirou to narrow his eyes.

"Your ankle sure seemed to heal up fast, didn't it?" Shirou said with slight edge in his voice.

Marget chuckled nervously at his comment knowing she was busted but still tried to pretend like she was innocent.

Shirou sighed, well, what's done is done and it's best just to move on. "Is it alright to just leave the cart in the middle of the road?" he asked worriedly.

"The road is wide isn't it?" Margret chuckled lightheartedly, glad that Shirou decided to let her off the hook.

Shirou rolled his eyes and gently set the cart down. It was probably for the best though since people around here didn't seem to like him that much. The best course of action would be to find a bar or inn, since travelers tended to stop and/or loiter there, and ask for directions. If they simply wanted him out of their town so badly, then they should be more than willing to share instructions on how to leave it. It would only make sense.

"By the way, if you're looking to get a drink somewhere, the pub is right over there." Margret said as she pointed to a building that looked a lot like a saloon in one of those old western movies.

"Oh, thank you." Shirou nodded gratefully. Perhaps he can gather some information from the people there. Drunk patrons do have a hard time keeping their mouths shut after all.

"No problem young man! Now I have to go and take care of some business. I'm not getting any younger after all haha! You take care of yourself, you hear me?" Margret spoke while smiling brightly at Shirou.

"But of course, and you take care of yourself as well ma'am. Wouldn't want to fall down and hurt your ankle again now would you?" Shirou said with slight amusement.

The response he got was Margaret starting to laugh loudly as she was walking off.

Before Shirou advanced towards the pub he looked around to see if the people were still glaring at him. They still were but there was something strange. There seemed to be less people glaring at him than before. The people that actually stopped glaring were that ones that had went on doing their daily duties and acted like they were before he had entered the town. What a strange bunch.

"Well, at least I won't be here for long." Shirou sighed before he pushed the doors open to the pub and walked in.

From some distance away, Marget watched as the young Vance walked into the bar. _"He looks just like someone I met a while ago. This name... Emiya... it sounds so familiar. Hmm..."_

The inside of the pub was exactly what Shirou thought it would look like: a western saloon. There was a single counter in front of a large shelf filled with various bottles that were filled with what he presumed to be alcohol, and many stools were stationed along the front of the counter. Aside from the counter, there was also multiple drink stained round tables with musty wooden chairs pulled up to them. In the back, where there was a ton of space for some reason, there was a long table that was probably used for some kind of game or something.

However, there was one thing that Shirou noticed in particular about the bar: it smelled worse than the medical office back at the Vance Estate. A room that served drinks... smelled worse than a place where people died, bled, and had their other fluids extracted. However, the smell could have been from the patrons, they looked really smelly… among other things. The patrons looked like they either just got done working at an oil rig, or were some kind of stereotypical drifters.

"Good lord, it smells terrible in here." Shirou noted as he walked forward, ignoring the glares he was getting from the few patrons. Yep, they were definitely the smelly ones.

Adding to the almost blinding amount of stereotypes was the bartender that looked like he had literally jumped out of some Wild West movie. He had everything from the slight heftiness to the balding scalp to the outfit he wore, it was dead on. Well, the women were the warriors of this world while it seemed that the men were the stereotypes. They weren't dead on stereotypes, unless the bartender was counted, but stereotypes all the same regardless.

Shirou walked towards the stereotypical bartender and ignored the looks from the smelly patrons of the bar. Though he discreetly kept a close eye on them since they DID look like an unruly bunch, but it seemed like they were too drunk to realize that they outnumbered him. Not that Shirou was complaining though, he would be out of here soon enough and wouldn't have to put up with the glares anyways.

"Excuse me." Shirou said lowly to the bartender.

The bartender, who was washing glasses and probably pretended that he didn't hear him, gave Shirou a quick glance before sighing, putting down the glass, before finally turning to the redhead with a bored look.

Shirou's eyebrow twitched but the overall expression on his face remained indifferent. He could honestly care less if a bartender that looked like he came out of a western movie, liked him or not. Right now, all he wanted to do was get out of here as soon as possible. Some may call it foolish to want to leave after getting glared at but when almost the entire populace does it, then it's a problem.

"What do you want?" The bartender said roughly.

_"Not your attitude."_ Shirou quipped in his mind. "I would like directions on how to get to Sheldan Free City."

The bartender narrowed his eyes and Shirou narrowed his right back. "Hmm... you're not the thief."

"Excuse me?" An eyebrow was raised.

"You're not the thief." The bartender repeated. "Yeah, definitely not. You don't look the type that would steal something. I'd say you're more of a thug character."

"What are you even talking about? A thief? Is that why everyone is looking at me like they want to burn me on a stake?" Shirou questioned and turned around to see that everyone was still glaring at him.

The bartender nodded as he folded his arms. "I expected as much. You see, this town has been plagued by a thief as of late, and a damn slippery one at that. Everyone here is pretty much on the edge, but don't worry about these drunk idiots. They probably don't even know where they are right now."

"Uhhh… okay?" Shirou replied with some uncertainty as he glanced at the patrons of the bar. They all did have pretty glassy looks in their eyes indicating that they have consumed quite a lot of alcohol. "But what does this have to do with me? I've done nothing wrong to receive such harsh looks."

The bartender laughed nervously at Shirou's question while scratching the back of his head, he then looked away guiltily.

Shirou's eyebrow twitched, he could see where this was going to go. The bartender was going to say something really obnoxious and kind of insulting. The redhead had lived in this world long enough to know that it liked to prove him wrong, and that it knows how to press his buttons. On a good note, at least it wasn't trying to kill him...at least not yet it wasn't.

"Ah... well... you see… uh, while we haven't actually ever seen the thief's face, we do know that..." The bartender paused briefly before continuing. "whoever it is… has red hair."

"They think I'm the thief... because of my hair color?" Shirou asked with clear annoyance in his voice. He simply knew it.

"Ah, yeah." The bartender admitted while offering a smile. "One night the watchmen caught a glimpse of the thief but only of the backside. The only notable thing that the watchman managed to make out was that the thief had deep red hair."

"Like mine." Shirou stated.

The bartender nodded while scratching the bald part of his head a bit. "To be fair, that shade of red is incredibly uncommon around these parts. We've never seen hair that was actually fully red in color."

Shirou sighed, the bartender did have a point. Even in Shirou's previous world, red hair was a very, very uncommon color, and having red hair that was literally red, in every sense of the word, was even rarer. Apparently the same thing was here as well, or at least Shirou hoped it was and it wasn't just the world playing some kind of weird joke on him like it seemed to do quite often. It was probably too much to ask that it wasn't though.

"Fine." Shirou said with a sharp inhale. "I guess I see your point. However, I expect you to tell them that I'm not the thief."

The bartender laughed like it was some kind of funny joke. It wasn't. "If it were that easy then any criminal in the world could say they didn't do it and get released. Sorry to break it to you kid but the world isn't some fairy tale where problems can be solved easily."

"Fairy tale isn't the word I would have used to describe it but I see your point." Shirou replied. He'd probably use the word 'Erotica' for a lack of better word. "So, I would probably be cleared of any suspicion if the thief is caught right?"

"Most likely." The bartender agreed with a shrug.

"But, if I simply were leave town, then I would most likely look even more suspicious in the eyes of the people around here, right?" Shirou added while rubbing his chin in thought. "It really raises the question of why I should even care."

"More than likely. The people around here don't take too kindly to thieves since we used to have problems with bandits in the past, before more troops were stationed to guard the town's perimeter." The bartender replied. "News travels fast around this town my friend. If one person knows it, everyone knows it."

"Troops?" Shirou arched an eyebrow while rubbing his chin.

The bartender nodded. "Troops from the Queen's Capital, Gainos. You don't want to tangle with them. You'll regret even thinking about it." The bartender said his voice edgy as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a rather nasty looking scar that ran from his wrist to his elbow.

"I see." Shirou replied lowly as he examined the scar, it was pretty grievous. How did he even survive a wound like that? It must have been a miracle."What are the chances they would come after me if I left town?"

"Honesty, they'd probably arrest you on the spot." The bartender admitted while rolling down his sleeve. "Its no secret that people have a hard time keeping their mouth shuts. I wouldn't put it past someone to tell the guards you're the thief without hearing you out first."

"And I take it you're not going to vouch for me?" Shirou asked in a monotone voice.

"Nope." The bartender declared cheerfully, way too cheerfully for Shirou's liking. "

"I thought as much."

Shirou sighed and slapped his face with his palm. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy, and if it was there was always bound to be some sort of catch. Shirou personally had nothing against trying to find this thief, but he didn't necessarily like the idea that he was practically forced to do it. If the circumstances weren't what they were then Shirou would have been more than happy to help them catch this criminal, but being forced to do it is more or less the same thing as being guilty.

"Alright, then do you at least have some sort of plan that can help me get out of this mess?" Shirou said after a long sigh.

The bartender smiled cheekily. "I've got no clue." He admitted shamelessly. "All I can advise you, is to speak to the town watchmen. They might have a suggestion on what you should do."

An eyebrow twitched. "I see."

"Now back to business, is there anything I can get you?" The bartender said with a flip of the switch.

"I guess I'll take a juice." Shirou said. He was kinda of thirty.

The bartenders frowned. "A juice I see. It seems I had misjudged you." He said before going back to clearing the glasses

"And what is that suppose to mean?" Shirou questioned, his eyebrow twitching.

"I said you looked like a thug but I guess a featherweight would have been more appropriate." The bartender retorted, a challenging tone to his voice.

The redhead narrowed his eyes at the bold bartender. "I'm not going to buy another drink just because you called me a featherweight."

"Oh really? Damn, most men would have because I challenged their masculinity." The bartender said rather nonchalantly. "I guess you aren't most men."

"You have no idea."

* * *

A few hours had passed and it was now night-time. The night sky was blanketed in stars of all different shapes and sizes, but the moon was absent from the display. Circlette Town was dark as most of its residence had called in for the night. But, it wasn't just the people who were quiet, but the usually vibrant forest went silent as well with the exception of the sounds from typical nocturnal insects and other night dwellers like bats.

"I've only been here for barely half a day and this place is already too much for me."

In a tree just outside the town sat Shirou on a branch. He climbed high enough on the tree to get a good vantage point and to hide himself from view in case anyone walked by. He was lucky enough to find a branch that was both strong enough to support his weight and at least allowed to sit somewhat on it.

He had been sitting in this tree for thirty minutes, waiting for this thief to show up. Why was that? Because the genius of a watchman thought that if Shirou hid in a tree, then the thief wouldn't see him coming… the same effect that hiding a bush would have had.

The redhead sighed. "This better be worth it or else the only thing that will come out this would be half a dozen splinters in my ass." Shirou grimaced a bit but kept vigilant. "Who knows if the thief is even coming tonight. Maybe I should call it quits and find a place to sleep at. I can always do some searching tomorrow."

Suddenly, an outline figure of a person passed right into Shirou's view, and since the watchmen had ordered everyone stay in their houses tonight, there were only two possibilities on what that person might be: a passerby, or the thief. It quickly became clear that it was the latter, judging by the only feature that Shirou could get a clear view of: the red hair.

How ironic, he was being judged by his hair color by the people from this town, and now he quickly passed on judgment by the same thing.

_"You have got to be kidding me." _Shirou glowered as he watched the red haired thief dash through the dark streets before stopping in front of the door of a nearby house. _"Alright, here we go."_

The young Vance dropped from the tree as quietly as he could and started to silently creep towards the unsuspecting thief. As he drew closer he could see more and more of the thief. He could now tell that the thief was definitely a female, had red hair, and that her skin had a light but noticeable tan. Her outfit however... wasn't so easy to make out and Shirou would rather not go into details of what it looked like... or rather, what _he _thought it looked like.

"Hey." The thief jerked stiffly before turning around slowly to face a scowling Shirou. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I-I was just, uh..." The thief spoke in a feminine voice.

Yup, definitely a female.

Shirou narrowed his eyes as he took a better look at the thief. Now that he could see her face, he had to admit that she was actually quite beautiful. She looked young, maybe of the same age as Claudette or maybe year older but, but regardless of older or younger age, the healthy flush on her face made her look youthful and inexperienced. Her hair was of the same shade as Shirou's albeit a lot spikier and it was a little below the shoulders in length. It would probably grow into a mane as she got older. Her eyes were a light purple and her tanned skin was slightly darker then what Shirou had previously thought. A noticeable thing is that she has a gorgeous body like most of the women in this world seem to have.

Her outfit consists of an ornate tight jacket as her top, and black panties with a detailed red belt over them as her bottom. On her arms, she has armguards high up on her arms Her footwear consisted of a pair of sandals.

Finally Shirou took a note of her weapon which was a wooden club that had a crude metal wrapping at the striking end. She also had a medium sized wooden shield hanging of her left hand.

"Who are you!?" The thief demanded rather fearfully despite keeping up a tough front.

Shirou folded his arms and glared at her "That's my line you know, but I do have one important question for you." The thief arched a ruby colored eyebrow. "What does the name Emiya mean to you?"

* * *

Well, it sure has been a while hasn't it? Yeah, sorry about that. I won't bore you with the details but I will give you an indication of why it took so long: European History, laziness, and getting to gold before the season ended (I got it). Anyways, onto the more pressing notes. Needless to say it was probably the most boring few months of my life but like I said I ain't going to give up on this story and it WILL be finished.

Oh, and if you see any mistakes in this chapter point them out and I will fix them. Also no update on the harem or no harem thing...still undecided on that.

_**Story Related Items-**_

**This Chapter:**

Honesty this was the most annoying chapter to write so it maybe of lower quality compared to the chapters before it. You to cut me some slack though because I don't have a crunch to stand on when it comes locations that weren't seen in the animation. So yeah, if the description ends of being a little bit fuzzy and weird that is why. I have also prepared answers for a few questions you might have:

_"Why didn't you just jump to places that you knew?"_

\- Because it was more likely that there were several towns located all over the continent. Also, it would feel like it would seem like I'm trying to rush through things by having him jump around from place to place in a short amount of time.

_"Who was that girl at the end?"_

_\- _Not sure, who was she? You tell me.

_"Why does Shirou seem like he gets annoyed easily? He's always twitching his eyebrow or something."_

\- I feel like being born in a new world that pretty much says "Effe you" to your old world gives you every right to be annoyed or outright angry. However, I can see how that would be annoying so I'll try to stop that a number of people are annoyed by it. Sorry it seems like Shirou is being "unreasonable". Hope that clears some things up.

_"Why does it seem like everyone hates Shirou?"_

\- It makes for some interesting comedic effects. If it was done badly his chapter it was because it was pretty hard to picture something that didn't exist and I had to go with the flow. Yeah, it may have gone over the time this chapter.

_"Why didn't Shirou reinforce against Melona?" (I just remembered this one)_

\- Because I'm pretty sure Shirou is smart enough to realize that it wouldn't have mattered. Melona wasn't taking him seriously which played into Shirou's hands perfectly. At the moment, Shirou had a perfect opportunity to defeat her and if she wasn't a slime he would have killed her. I'm also convinced that the moment she regenerated he would have realized that using the same methods wouldn't have worked on her. Why waste energy on something that may have not even worked?

_"How long will the next chapter take?"_

-Less time than this one. I would have already started on it the next one, but I don't really have a definite answer to that question.

**Review Responses:**

_"Great chapter. Loved the ending especially here, thou I do wonder what is Shirou's current level of strength and his progress on his magic. There some tough enemies here and he does need an edge against them. You could mention it in the next chapter."_

\- I hoped this chapter answered your question. If it didn't, feel free to ask PM me for the answer.

_"I'm guessing by the time the sister reunite with Shirou, he's going to look like Archer. Also please have him able to Trace NP soon, the QB characters reactions will be hilarious."_

\- A fair guess, but giving an answer has the potential to spoil things so this is all I can do. I don't think he'll get them back any time soon, at this point, if he got the NPs back he'd just steamroll over everyone...Melona included. It would be very toxic for the story if he gets them back too early (Now I know what Morello feels like).'

_"Sorry for language errors, but i wanted to make review anyway._

_1\. Shiro too weak for this time. Even if he focused on reinforcement (which he not even used in battle with Melona for some uknown reason), don't forget, that second time, then he know right road, it's much much easier to reach his old level in tracing. There can be another reason, why he can't trace Noble Phantasms yet or at all, but not lack of training. I understang that you don't want to Shiro become too powerfull, but, actually, it's a wrong move. We like powerfull (but kinda stupid) Shiro, who use his powers economically. Even Archer show off only in front of Shiro and never in front of another enemy._

_2\. Do not joke with Gilgamesh. He just can't have problems with money, even without Gates of Babylon. It's not problem for him at all to won on totalizator or in casino._

_3\. QB with male character but without harem (at least, small) just not so interesting. I not really like harems, at least with more than 3 woman, but some worlds, like Sekirei, just don't feel right without them. Too many singles with interesting characters around, to many dissapointed readers after first-and-last-choice __

_4\. Shiro already have Reality Marble, because it's tied to his soul and mind, not his body. He just can't reach it now? Because of this "golden shining" (Avalon 0_o)?"_

**-**Way to not read the A/Ns I put or...even listen to the explanations of why I do the things I do. Your consideration and the time you take to consider the other point of view is heartwarming, it really is.

_**Non-Story (This story) Related Items-**_

**Shirou and the Teigu:**

Okay, I made a flop last chapter by saying that Shirou can't trace the Teigu because they are made material made from living beings. It was my intention was not to sound like I was Zyra'ing Shirou (weakening him), or to sound like I was stupid. Don't get me wrong, your arguments don't budge my theory that he can't trace Teigus. Since I know that people are just going to argue with what I say regardless of how good of a point I make so I'm not going to explain what my theory is, but it does involve the Structural Analysis. You'll see it when the story is finally published.

I never said that what I said is the absolute truth. I never said that. All I am saying is that it is unlikely that Shirou is the creator of the Teigu and/or trace them.

**Story Previews:**

Below are short previews of other stories I had ideas for or had mentioned about writing before. They are still experimental and what you see may not be in the actual story or even be relevant. Keep it in mind I can change anything I want. Oh, and be sure to tell me what you think of the previews and try to take a guess at who each story is for.

_**Preview #1**_

_I couldn't begin to explain why I had a musket, yes a seventeenth century weapon, pointed at my face. To be honest, I'm not even sure where that thing even came from, but from what I saw...it came from a strange location._

_"What is your answer?"_

_Oh yes, and how could I forget the very person pointing the musket may face. My dark eyes were met with eyes equally as dark and blank staring back at me from behind the musket. I knew her. I sat next to her in every class I had. She would try to walk silently behind me, but I knew she was there. Every minute, of everyday, at school I could feel her studying me. Despite her strange behavior she was a very lovely girl, I just wish that the musket wasn't her first resort._

_"My answer." I said as a smirk played on my twitching lips. _

_I saw her body tense and the grip o her musket tighten. Ah I see, so the entire time she was nervous about my answer. I didn't know that such things matter to someone like her._

_"I'd be foolish to decline."_

Series: Brilliant Park (Which I love) x ? (It isn't the Legend of Zelda)

_**Preview #2**_

_The camera flashes...were annoying. I couldn't see anything with all of those bright flashes all around, so when someone would as me a question I had no idea who I was talking to. So I didn't. I never replied to any question or even acknowledge a question was even asked of me. I don't think this response was unwarranted, it may say to the world that I'm an unsociable character, but I'd rather be that true then be painted up by the media as the wonder kid I'm clearly not._

_"How does it feel to be the first male pilot?"_

_That question I heard very clearly over the endless stream of barely understandable questions everyone else was asking me. However, this question was one I hear many times and one that no one ever stopped asking. How did I feel about it? That was actually a good question, how did I feel? _

_"I feel like...I'm just one in the many to come." I said and I meant it._

_For once during the entire interview, there was no sound at at. It was completely silent just the way I liked it._

Series: IS (Yep, real original right?) x ?

_**Preview #3**_

_"Make your choice."_

_A choice, was there really a choice here to be had? Hmm...die or forget everything practically the same thing only the latter being slow and ignorant death. How could I forget what just happened? Or maybe a better question would be, what do I even remember? The day had started out pretty normal then...there was nothing but ruin all around me. Yeah, I didn't remember anything._

_"Is what you call a choice?" I said as my teeth grit together and I got to my feet. "What the hell kind of choice is this? Die or die ignorant? Die without remembering everyone? I think I'll pass."_

_"So then you.." The gun cocked as it moved to point at my face: a kill shot._

_"I refuse you choice and instead offer you a third one: I'll going to make this right."_

Series: Trinity Seven x FSN

_**Preview #4**_

_So, that day had finally come huh? I was finally starting high school and to be honest I was pretty excited. I picked this school, Kuoh Academy, because it sounded like an all boys school. It couldn't have been more perfect! Oh, and can't forget this it was also one of the most well funded schools in the district. I was lucky to even get in. However, they seemed more than happy to let me in without some sort of test or something. Not sure what that was about._

_"Alright." I said, a smile gracing my face. "Here we go." _

_When I walked in was I was met with the most horrifying sight I had ever seen: girls. They were very where! In the courtyard! Sitting on the benches! In class! Eating lunch! In the trees! Pointing and and giving me weird looks. I mean they were everywhere! Surely there had to be some law or something about this, because such a gather had to break some zoning code or something. How do I even response to something like this!? How!?_

_"Oh god." Yeah, that pretty much summed it up._

_I entered my classroom and it was filled with girls just like I thought. I politely introduced myself and sat where the teacher told me, and made VERY special care not to brush up against them. _

_"Okay, now that everyone is here. I would like to wish everyone luck on their three year stay here." The teacher proclaimed._

_I gulped. Dear father, please do not think lowly of your son who died a horrible death in a sea of mammary._

Series: Highschool DxD x Dragon's Rioting

_**Preview #5**_

_I dodged their lazy magic blasts easily as I quickly gained ground on them, my spear ready. These...devils were not welcome here and my master made it ever clear that any devil that didn't show me the sign of their master was not welcome here. I nimbly handled my spear in hand before stabbing it forward into one of the grunts in front of me. There were 3...2 of them them left no and judging by their faces...my next kill would come soon. I pushed forward using the body of the other devil as cover as I caught another one on my sinister point._

_"You...you." The last devil said choking on his own words._

_I didn't say a word. I calmly pulled the spear out of the deceased devils and made my way towards the last devil. Hmm...what was this smell? My eyes lowered to see a stain over the devil's groin. I see, he's afraid of me...or rather he is afraid of what I can do. A perfectly justifiable reaction considering what I just didn't, but his feelings weren't relevant at the moment._

_"I'll let you live only for the purpose of delivering a message to your master." I said my voice muffled by the mask I was wearing._

_"W-what?"_

_"Tell them to...never underestimate humanity."_

Series ? x ?

Questions, comments, concerns, or requests?


	7. Chapter 6

**See Author Notes and see the underlined topic.**

* * *

A cool night breeze blew by as Shirou and the young woman stared each other down. They had been like this, doing nothing but staring in silence, for at least two or three minutes, probably due to the question Shirou had asked her. It wasn't like it was a hard question, well, it also wasn't necessarily an easy one either, but knowing the answer to it was a simple matter. Although, he had a pretty good idea what the answer most likely will be it never hurt to ask considering how strange this world was. Anything was possible and everything is permitted.

"Well?" Shirou asked blankly.

The young woman narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "Emiya? Never heard of it."

"Ah, I see." Shirou replied with a nod. He figured as much. "Then who exactly are you then?"

A red eyebrow was raised when Shirou saw a prideful and a brilliantly smug look appear on the woman's face after he asked that question. It wasn't Gilgamesh smug, not like anyone other than Gilgamesh could be so smug, but it was still very smug. However, it was pretty strange that she would be completely calm despite being caught late at night while participating in suspicious activity. So, that could mean that she wasn't the thief, was really confident, or was somewhat slow. It was still too early to jump to conclusions though.

"The name's Risty." She said proudly with a smirk and a beat of her fist against her chest.

"Pleasure to meet you Risty. My name is Shirou Emiya." He introduced himself with a small bow. No reason to be impolite.

_"Risty huh? Well, she does fit the description of the thief but that doesn't mean she is the thief." _Shirou pondered silently. _"Maybe I can coax some information out of her."_

"You're pretty polite for a guy who likes to wander around in the dark all by himself." Risty said suddenly, a mocking smirk decorating her face. "Shirou is a pretty unusual name, you from Hinomoto or something?"

_"I doubt we're thinking about the same place." _Shirou mentally commented as he shook his head. _"If my memory serves Hinomoto is another name for Japan. This world may not be that different after all."_

"Ah, I see, well, I guess I'll be on my way then, Mr. Shirou." She said before moving to walk past him only for her path to be blocked. "What are you doing?"

"Pardon my rudeness but I still have something that I would like to ask you." Shirou said, his face even and indifferent. Risty didn't say anything but she clearly wasn't happy judging by the sour look on her face.

"Risty, do you know that this town has been plagued by a thief lately?" Shirou asked, feigning ignorance with each word. He was careful to avoid using any accusing words and to keep his voice even. The last thing he wanted was her freaking out.

"Nope, never heard a word of it." She denied rather quickly. "I'm just out here taking a stroll."

Shirou folded his arms and his expression remained unimpressed. She wasn't a very good liar was she? She must still be green, a newbie, in that field. Although, he was impressed that she was able to keep a straight face despite obviously lying. Her body tensed up, her eyes shifted, and she looked uncomfortable in general but her facial expression remained straight which, again, was quite impressive despite everything else.

"You're just taking a scroll in the middle of the night? While alone and armed? When everyone else is asleep? And you just happen to stop by a house and look into the keyhole for no reason?" Shirou listed all the suspicious on his fingers. There were a lot more but he didn't have enough fingers for all of them.

"Th-that's because..." Risty almost shouted before quieting down. She glared at Shirou heatedly. "Why are _you_ armed and alone? While wondering in the dark?"

Shirou smirked. "Because I'm a suspicious character." Again, not a lie.

"You're weird." Risty commented with a disgusted sneer.

"You're probably right." Shirou admitted with a shrug. "I won't deny that, but this isn't about me is it?" He pointed out before giving the woman in front of him a sharp glare. "It's about you and why you were sneaking around."

Now he could see it clearly, she was definitely a greenhorn. She took a step back as the signs of anxiety and nervousness started to reveal themselves. Her body was shaking a bit, her breathing had become stiff and strained, and her eyes darted back and forth. She was starting to fall apart and, in fact, at moments like this it was only a matter of time before she...

Suddenly she turned tail and bolted into the forest that was not too far from them. Shirou quickly took after her into the dense foliage but quickly realized that she had the advantage in these woods. In a matter of seconds she was already a good distance away from him and was navigating the rather treacherous foliage like she had been doing it all her life. She nimbly leaped over hidden tree roots, easily ducked under stray branches, and effectively zigzagged between the trees. Quite a clever technique… if it wasn't so easy to see through.

Shirou hopped over a tree root before sliding under a low hanging branch as he chased the suspicious young woman. He gritted his teeth before turning sharply, reinforcing his legs, and bolting forward in an attempt to cut her off. With his reinforced legs he easily outpaced her and was rapidly catching up to her.

Panicking, Risty ran with all of her might to get out of Shirou's reach and took an even more treacherous route. She was trying to throw him off, but Shirou opted for a less obstructive route.

As the two ran deeper and deeper into the forest while dodging branches, avoiding trees, and maneuvering around the roots, a certain glaring detail was becoming more and more obnoxious: it was getting louder. What had started out as a low rumble was quickly becoming a truly deafening roar that was only getting louder. The sound itself was very distinct and nearly unmistakable: the sound of running water.

"Hey!" Shirou shouted at Risty, realizing what the sound meant "Stop! There is a river up ahead!"

The sound of the running water was loud, so loud in fact, that Shirou could barely hear himself so there was only a very slim chance that Risty heard his warning. But why was she still running if she could hear the roaring as well? No, the better question was why would she stop? She was running from him after all and she more or less solidified that she was guilty by running away. She'd have to be stupid to stop now. Although, that just meant that Shirou had all the more reason to catch her before something bad happened, and he guessed that something bad was sure to happen either way.

"Wait!" Shirou shouted again, hoping that at least one of his shouts would reach her. "Stop! There is a river up ahead! You're going to fall in!"

Risty either didn't hear, or was just flat out ignoring what Shirou shouted out. In fact, it seemed that she had picked up her pace and was running even faster than before. That was when it hit him.

She was planning to try to get away using the river! It made perfect sense!

If she went and dove into the river than he'd probably lose her under the water. What a sneaky devil she was. Not a good liar, but definitely sneaky.

Shirou grit his teeth and sprinted as fast as he could. _"You're not going to get away that easily!"_

Looking over her shoulder, Risty saw Shirou rapidly gaining more ground. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when he was almost within arm's reach of her. She turned back and made a hard turn to her right, cutting behind a tree to get some breathing room. But, the young knight stuck to her like glue and followed her every movement like a leopard stalking its prey: behind every tree, under every branch, over every root. There was no way that he was going to let her get away.

_"Damn this guy is persistent."_ Risty swore in her head as the distance between was closing rapidly. _"I'll get away dammit! Even if I have to jump into the river!"_

The roar of the river got louder and louder as the chase continued. Neither side was willing to give up so they ran and the more they ran, the closer they got to the raging rapids ahead. They could practically feel the raging waters roaring in their ears and could actually smell the scent of water filling the air as they drew closer.

"Stop!" Shirou gave one last shout. But like the shouts before it, this one was also ignored. "No choice then."

This was it, he either caught her now or they were both going into the river. Shirou ran as fast as his legs could carry him and followed her every motion to a T. When the roar of the river was at its loudest, it was a sign that the chase was about to end.

The red haired knight lashed his arm out and grabbed the thief right on the wrist. He had caught her just a foot way from the shifting waters... or so he thought.

Suddenly Risty jerked towards the river, pulling an ill-prepared Shirou into her, knocking them both into the raging waters just ahead. The two struggled feebly against the mighty force of the river as it dragged them down stream. Shirou protectively held Risty close with his arm as the river dragged them faster and faster towards… an end?

"A waterfall!?" Shirou's eyes widened when saw it. It was as clear as the river's water and as plain as day. At the end of this river there was a waterfall, and a large one at that.

The edge of the towering pillar of column of water continued to grow faster as the two redheads struggled to get away from it. But there was no doubt about it; they were going over the edge.

At that point the matter of surviving was something that was not so certain, however. All they could do was hold each other close as they went over the end of the falls.

* * *

Vision of the world finally started to return as consciousness was regained. Although, the big dark spots and the blurriness _definitely _did not help in that aspect and instead just made everything look like a big abstract painting. Well, it seemed that being knocked out and then coming to later was still the same as always. That was definitely something that never changed no matter what world it was.

_"Ouch, that really hurts."_ Shirou groaned as he rolled over on his side. _"I hope Risty is okay." _Shirou opened his eyes to see Risty laying on the ground a few feet away. She was soaking wet but otherwise looked fine. _"Good, she's safe."_

The red haired man groaned in pain as he slowly sat up. Even though he reinforced his entire body when he fell over the edge, it certainly did not stop him from feeling it. Sure he made it out of the fall without any broken bones, but that didn't mean he walked away from it completely unscathed either. If he sufficed to guess he would probably be really sore tomorrow but that was hours away, well, it would have been a few hours ago.

_"Okay, now where am I?" _Shirou wondered as he got to his feet and took a gander at his surroundings.

The waterfall was directly behind him, he could hear it still roaring. The rest of his surroundings hadn't really changed much though. It was mostly forest which was noticeably much denser than the foliage that he had observed above the waterfall. Aside from those things there weren't too many differences, well, aside from the time being early morning and not late night like it was before he lost consciousness. It was still dark out but stray rays of sunlight could be seen crawling out over the horizon.

_"So I've been out for a while then."_ The red haired male thought. _"It looks it's still pretty early in the morning so it must have been out for a while."_

At that moment a soft moan was heard. Shirou turned his head to the side to see Risty beginning to stir.

He sighed as he started to walk towards her. Now while he was glad that she was safe and all, it didn't change the fact that she was mostly likely a thief and that she ran away when his questions hit her too close to home. Now was the best time to get her.

_"If I'm lucky, I can get her before she wakes up." _Shirou thought, knowing full well that with his luck, things weren't likely to go his way.

At that moment Risty started to stir even more. She moaned lightly as her eyes started to slowly flutter open.

Shirou didn't stop walking and kept advancing towards her. He was quite aware that things weren't going to go his way so he might as well go with the flow. No use in fighting it right?

"Ah, where am I?" Risty said lightly as she sat up and looked around. "What happened?" She suddenly winced and held her head seemingly in pain. "Why does my head hurt?"

Shirou stopped walking and held up three fingers. "Okay, so in that order: I don't know. We over a waterfall. Probably because we went over a waterfall."

The red haired woman suddenly looked up at Shirou like he had an alien sucking on his face or something. She looked complete perplexed by who he was. She arched an eyebrow when it looked like she was trying to mentally process something. Ever so slowly the pieces started to put themselves together and closer and closer did she get the realization before finally...

"You're that guy that likes to wander around in the dark by himself!" Risty shouted with a comically exaggerated shocked expression. It looked like something out of a work of a fiction...or a cartoon.

Shirou just stood there with a deadpan expression. "At least you remember me." He rolled his shoulders with a loud crack. "Do you perhaps remember my name as well?"

"Shirone?" Risty offered with a tilt of her head.

"You were pretty close, but it's Shirou."

Risty narrowed her eyes while Shirou just crossed his arms. "You were trying to catch me."

"Only because you ran." Shirou countered bluntly. "I wouldn't have chased you if you would have just answered my question."

"And you were expecting me to just tell you the truth?"

"Not really but I would have offered some advice regardless."

Risty scoffed and averted her eyes. "Tsk! You were probably going to tell me turn myself in or something."

"No."

"Wh-what?" Risty recoiled.

"I wouldn't have said that because I didn't know if you actually were a thief." Shirou stated dryly. "Right now, you pretty much admitted you are one."

Risty's face was splattered with surprise, like she honestly had no idea how she just got caught. Wait, this situation seemed familiar. Ah yes, this was about the same time where she bolted before. Although this time, she assumed that Shirou was prepared and wouldn't let her get as much breathing room as she did. Besides, she too sore to run.

"You really are a stubborn guy aren't you?" Risty hissed, it was clear she was very angry. "Why don't you just mind your own damn business?!"

"Sorry, I can't do that." Shirou replied firmly.

"Fine!" Risty sprang to her feet and charged forward with her club held high. "Then I'll make you!"

Shirou just sighed and drew the sword he was given for his journey, the standard Vance long sword. There was no reason to be wasting magic in a circumstance like this, his physical skills would be more than enough to handle this situation. Not to be arrogant or anything but he could probably handle this with the next move.

Shirou sidestepped Risty's blow. "You're putting too much strength in your shoulders. Your sides are wide open."

The handle of Shirou's sword slammed into the back of Risty's neck with considerable force, not to cause some serious damage though, but just with enough of it to hurt like hell.

Risty chocked from the sudden blow before she crashed face first into the ground and stopped moving.

"You also leave your neck wide open for an attack as well." Shirou stared at her prone figure for a bit before sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Seems I hit her too hard."

A few hours had passed and it was just before lunchtime judging by the position of the sun. It was surprisingly warm despite how cool it had been the last few days, but a change of pace was good every now and then.

"Hey, where are we going?"

Shirou looked over his shoulder at Risty, whom he had restrained and was leading her by the rope attached to his belt. They had been walking on this road for a while to get back to Circlette Town. So far, it wasn't really working out that well mainly because they had no idea where Circlette Town was.

"Isn't obvious? We're going back to Circlette Town." Shirou answered as he kept walking.

"Aw! You are going to turn me in!" Risty cried and writhed in her bindings. They were really, really tight unsurprisingly.

"I never said that I was going to let you go either."

"Even if I offered you a cut of the profit or... my body?" Risty said the last part with clear distaste.

Shirou chuckled lowly. "I don't need money and you should treat your body with more respect than that. Also, there is no guarantee that you'll up hold your end of the bargain even if I did so. I'd lose either way."

"You're not as dense as you look." Risty murmured to herself. _"My luck just keeps getting worse doesn't it?"_

"I heard that." Shirou acknowledged without looking around. "But, I'll admit that I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer at times."

_"Seriously, what are these conversations? They're so tense but at the same time so casual." _Risty thought before the sound of hooves hit hear ears. She turned her head to see a very lavish looking carriage approaching them. _"Oh great, this day just keeps on getting better."_

The carriage rapidly gained ground on the two and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, was upon them.

Shirou arched an eyebrow and stopped walking when it seemed the carriage was slowing down as it passed them. He had a... feeling that nothing good was going to come out of this, a feeling that just got stronger when the carriage stopped completely.

"Oh great." Risty whined from behind him.

Shirou glanced his head back but quickly centering his vision on the carriage down the dirt road. A few moments later the carriage door opened to reveal a rather average looking, very chubby man wearing lavish clothes tailored to fit his larger size. He had combed blonde hair and swamp water blue eyes. Also, for one reason or another, he had a disgustingly happy look on his face as he ambled towards Shirou and Risty.

"Young man! Young man! I would like to have a word with you." The chubby man shouted gleefully as he ambled even faster towards the two.

A few moments later the man was within regular speaking range, and close enough that Shirou could get a really good look at him. His first inference was that this man was a noble given his lavish clothing, his expensive looking carriage, and his chubbiness. It was common for people around this period in time to be somewhat chubby if they were wealthy since they actually had money to gorge themselves. At least, that was the way it had been in the earlier years of Shirou's previous world.

"Is there something I can help you with, sir?" Shirou offered.

The noble nodded. "Well, it seems that you've already helped me by capturing that thief." He said while pointing at Risty.

"Tsk!" Risty scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Fat ass."

The red haired man glanced to Risty before turning back to the noble. "I'm assuming that she took something of yours."

"Oh yes! Yes she did! She took a very fine collection of golden dinning wear!" The noble declared with obvious outrage. "But now that you've caught her, justice can finally be served. So, if you will, hand her over."

"No." Shirou refused with a shake of his head. "She will be punished by the guards, not a noble."

The noble seemed to have taken back by the response but regained his composure. "I-I get it, you want some kind of reward don't you?" He said, his voice now very tense.

The red haired male narrowed his eyes. "No, I don't want a reward and I already told you the guards will be the ones to punish her." Shirou countered with a cross of his arms. "Now if you would excuse us..."

The noble gave a strained laugh. "I'll take her there for you then." He tried proposing again while his voice tensed even more.

"No, I can tell right now that you're lying to me." Shirou stated as he bit back the annoyance in his voice. Did this noble think that he was this stupid? "Besides, this is just a way for you to get revenge on her, isn't it?"

"Watch your mouth low born!" The noble suddenly snapped like a rabid dog.

Shirou sighed and gave the noble a dry look. "That's what is about isn't? She stole your dinnerware and you're angry about it?" Shirou stated knowingly. "You're a noble correct? You should be able to buy yourself another set."

"This isn't just about the dinnerware!" The noble proclaimed loudly.

"Then what else is it about? Please explain because I'm confused." Shirou said.

"It's about principle!" The noble shouted as he balled his hands into fists. He looked absolutely lived now. "How dare she, a thieving whore, steal something from me!? A respected and privileged individual such as myself!" He raged, his face burning red.

"Okay, but is that it?" Shirou asked with a shrug.

The noble looked flabbergast. "Of course not!" He shouted at the two. "I pride myself in the security of my mansion, and yet somehow this little wretch was able to sneak passed it!? Blasphemy!"

It took every ounce of self-restraint for Shirou not to face palm right there and now, but Risty didn't have such restraint and just burst out laughing. That is what this guy was so angry about? He wasn't mad that his stuff stolen... but he was mad that his security was breached? What kind of logic was that? That was like getting mad about a thief stealing a safe without stealing the things inside. In a normal world that wouldn't make any sense, but there was probably no such thing as a "normal world" so it was best not to fight it.

_"This guy... is ridiculous" _Shirou thought with a cringe. "So, you're mad that she got past your security then?" He said before shooting Risty a glare as a signal to shut up.

"Do you have any idea how much my image was tarnished because of it?! She made me into the laughing stock of the whole community!" The noble shouted so loud that Shirou was certain he would go deaf soon.

Risty again lost her restrain and laughed. "I'm just too damn good!"

"Please explain to me why you got caught then." Shirou said with a smirk, which in turn made Risty give him her harshest glare.

The noble's face became twisted with anger, his teeth were grinding together, his body was shaking with fury, and his head was practically littered with tick marks. It was quite the sight of so much anger displayed. It has sure been a while since Shirou saw a look like that. Although, this one was _a lot _less threatening compared to the ones he has seen in his previous life. In general, it was pretty unimpressive.

"Alright, that's it! I'm done negotiating with a dog like you!" The noble growled angrily as a cruel smirk stained his face. "Hand over the bitch… or else."

"I refuse." Shirou held his ground.

"Suit yourself." The noble said with a snap of his fingers.

On cue a group of thuggish men appeared out of the carriage. It was hard to count just how many there were since they all looked alike but there was at least six of them.

Shirou drew his sword and pointed it at the mob in front of him. He heard Risty shift behind him and felt a felt a tug on the rope afterwards. She wasn't comfortable with the situation, not like Shirou could blame her though. He'd probably have a similar reaction if he were in her spot.

"So I had you picked from the very beginning." Shirou stated bluntly and loudly enough for everyone to hear. "What a cowardly tactic."

"Shut up!" The noble snapped before he turned to his goons. "Kill that bastard and bring the bitch to me!"

The goons rushed forward all at once towards Shirou and Risty. The first goon who reached the two threw a brutish punch at Shirou who easily sidestepped it and slammed the hilt his sword into the goon's lower back. Shirou turned and duck under the blow of the next goon and swept his legs from underneath him with the flat part of his blade.

"You idiots! I said get them!" Shirou heard the noble roar furiously from the sidelines. Although he was the least of Shirou's concerns right now.

As the other four, slower moving goons approached, Shirou slid his free hand behind his back and traced a handful of blades. He waited until the goons were close enough before... he flicked his wrist and sent the blades flying! The goons yelped in pain as the knifes hit them in painful, but not lethal places on their bodies, causing crimson trails of blood to hit the ground like a leaky faucet. It wouldn't stop them completely but it would definitely slow them down.

"You're amazing!" Shriou heard Risty shout. He spared a glance her way and saw the stars in her eyes and the fascinated look on her face. "How did you do that?"

Shirou didn't answer her. It wasn't his style to talk during the middle of a battle. He always believed that any energy wasted in talking during combat could be used for battling the enemy… and from the looks it of it, he would definitely need that energy.

"Useless! You're all useless! They're are six of you and you can't take down a simple low born bastard and a thieving whore!?" The noble spat with disdain before he snapped his fingers and a whole mob of thugs came out of the chariot... again. "No matter, when you have lots of money you can always buy more of these brutes."

Shirou clicked his tongue loudly. _"I was expecting something like this." _He thought as he counted how many thugs there were while keeping an eye on the ones that tried to attack him before. _"Thirty of them? Is that carriage a clown car?"_

Risty, however, wasn't as calm as Shirou and if she wasn't bound right now, she'd take off running and would have never looked back. This situation was going from bad to worse now that the fat bastard had brought out more of his hired help. This Shirou guy was good, but she doubted that he could take all thirty of these thugs at once.

She looked at Shirou and… how many knives did his guy have? He was throwing handfuls of them aimed at the mob, trying to keep them at bay but she never saw him draw any of them from some type of bag or a holster. Strange. But, that wasn't important, if she could just get him to loosen these bindings then she'd be home free.

_"Think Risty, how are you going to get out of this one?"_ She pondered with her eyes closed before an idea hit her. _"That's it!"_

"Hey, Shirou." She called lowly using his first name, enough for Shirou to hear her. "I think there is too many of them."

Shirou glanced over his shoulder at her before taking a few steps back so that all of the thugs and the noble were in his field of vision. "Probably, but not like there are many options at the moment."

Risty gave him a confident smirk. "I have an idea."

The red haired male paused. "I'm listening."

"We run away." She replied almost too bluntly to be real. Shirou would have slapped his face with his hand if he wasn't focused on the mob of goons in front of them.

"Is that really your only idea?" He asked.

Risty laughed nervously. "Well, I was going to ask you to cut me loose first."

"And why should I do that?" He again asked, but with more suspicion this time.

"Because I know a place we can hide at if you do." She offered. "A place that fat ass doesn't know about."

Shirou kept up the knife throwing. "And what reason do I have to trust you? How do I know that you won't just run off if I cut you loose?"

"You don't." Risty admitted bluntly. "But that doesn't mean that you can't follow me right? Do you catch my gist?" She offered while trying her best not to smirk. _"You can follow me but it doesn't necessarily mean that I'll let you catch up."_

Shirou glanced back at her before quickly tracing dozens of knives and launched them into the crowd of goons. The goons dropped like flies as Shirou turned around to cut the bindings off Risty. She smirked as the ropes were cut and bolted as soon as she didn't feel their presence anymore. She could hear the fading swears of the noble as she made her get away. Surprisingly, she didn't hear Shirou say anything, not one thing the entire time that she made her get away. Well, it didn't matter because that would be the last she saw him.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, she stopped running to catch her breath. She dropped to the ground as she wheezed and huffed. She didn't really know how long she was running but it was apparently long enough since she could see a brown wooden door, the entrance to a pretty old and beat up building, up ahead. It was only a few more steps to freedom.

"That's quite the endurance you got there."

Risty's eyes widened and she quickly turned around to see Shirou standing there. He was really sweaty for some reason but that was besides the point.

"You were you able follow me!? How is it possible!? I thought I had left you in the dust!" Risty roared surprisingly loud, despite being out a breath just a few moments ago.

Instead of verbally answering, Shirou pointed at something on her waist, and when Risty looked down at it, it took everything she had to literally not hit herself in the face. The rope, the one that tied her belt to Shirou's, hadn't been cut and was completely intact. She was so excited about the fact that she was going to get away that she forgot that there was a rope actually stopping her from running away in the first place. He just ran with her so it felt like she was free! Damn it... and she was so close!

"So where are we?" Shirou asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He really worked up a sweat keeping up with her.

Risty sighed and threw her hands up in the air in defeat as she ambled towards the brown wooden door. "Hurry up! We have to get inside before someone sees us."

"If you say so."

* * *

"I'm back!" Risty said as she opened the door.

Shirou, who was standing at the doorway and far from the action, arched an eyebrow when Risty was immediately swarmed by a big mob of children. They were all crowded at her feet, some were dancing, and some were hugging her... It couldn't be more obvious that they were all happy to see her.

Shirou felt a smile tug at his lips, this must have been what other people saw when Leina and Elina clung to him. Although, this wasn't about him, and he still had business to attend to.

"Risty, who is he?" One of the children said while pointing at Shirou.

The red haired male looked at the children that pointed at him, he had never seen this kid before... but he seemed... familiar. Shirou couldn't really put his finger on what it was or anything but this kid, all of the children really, seemed to be familiar. It was a very strong sense of deja vu, a feeling within that he couldn't quite place at the moment, a strong sense of emotion was there.

"Don't mind him." Risty said to the child with a smile as she ruffled his hair. "Hey... I have something to tell you guys. I'm... I'm going to be gone for a long time after I leave here." She stated with a somber smile.

Immediately there were cries of protest from the children but Shirou stood silently still in the background. As he silently observed how Risty knelt down in attempt to pacify the crying children. After taking a more detailed look at children's plain, almost ragged clothes, it finally started to don on Shirou on what was happening.

"They're orphans aren't they?" Shirou asked, speaking for the first time since entering the room.

Risty and the orphans looked up at Shirou with surprised. "How could you know that?"

There was a moment of silence. "I'm familiar with that circumstance. I assure you." Shirou said. "I'm guessing that you take care of them."

Risty shook her head. "No, actually Sister Cornelia takes care of them but she's been ill lately."

"I see," Shirou said as he looked around.

This place was barely holding itself together! And that was saying something because Shirou had seen the aftermath of what happened when Heroic Spirits face off against each other, especially when the extremely destructive ones like Beserker participated in it. The floor boards looked old, rotting, and they had been stained dark by water. A quick look up provided with the answer for that. There was a large, likely horse sized, hole in the ceiling that went from both floors of the building.

He then glanced at the stone walls, noticing that there were cracks running along them with some places being covered in moss. The windows also had cracks, were very dirty and barely anything could be seen through them.

He then looked at the room itself that didn't have anything noteworthy in it, a few musty tables and chairs but that was about it. There was literally nothing in here, almost like there was nobody was living here at all.

Shirou then finally spotted a small, cracked stone cross hanging on the wall at the far end of the room. It was the only object indicating that this ruined building was once a church.

_"This scene seems vaguely familiar." _Shirou noted mentally as his eyes swept across the room. _"I can't my finger on what it is though."_

Shirou sighed and put his hands in his pockets and inhaled deeply. "I think I understand the circumstances here." He said as he turned towards the door. "You're stealing things for their sake right? You're selling all of the things to buy food for them, correct?"

Risty didn't answer immediately. She was still pondering whether or not this guy was going to turn her in or not. "Yes, that is what I do."

"I see… then I'd like to offer you a deal." Shirou said as he reached for the pack, the one Claudette gave him, behind his back and pulled out a sack of coins. "I'll pay you for all of those things you stole from Circlette Town."

The red haired thief was awestruck by that offer and it seemed the children shared her shock, considering they stopped playing and looked over at the two young adults. However, Risty's gaze hardened as her mind processed the words that were said to her. Twice, she had been fooled by this guy's mind games, she wasn't about to be fooled into giving up the items she stole, _and then _brought to the city guards on top of it.

"And you're not going to turn me in?" Risty asked slowly.

Shirou shook his head. "No, these kids need you. I can't just leave them here with a sick Sister, speaking of which," He said as he pulled out a vial filled with syrupy green liquid and tossed it to Risty. "if you give her this, she should be able regain her strength in a few days."

"And what do you get out of this?" Risty asked, her gaze still hard and scrutinizing.

"I don't want anything." Shirou replied honestly with a shrug. "It… it wouldn't be right to turn you in. You did commit a crime by stealing, but, leaving these children to fend for themselves is an even bigger crime." He said as he went to walk out the door. "I suggest that you learn more of the thieving business you're getting yourself involved in, or else, you aren't going to make it very fair. You were lucky that I was the one that managed to catch you. Other people will not be as understanding as I am."

"Noted." Risty agreed with a nod. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go take care of the noble and then I'm leaving." He said without looking back.

"You're going to kill him?!" The redhead women almost shouted out. Shirou already had done enough by letting her go, giving his own money to pay off the stolen goods, and even giving medicine for the ill sister. He doesn't need to get his hands bloodied for their sake.

Shirou didn't answer and walked out the door before shutting it behind him.

The red hair male watched the noble's reaction to his request with complete indifference. The noble was laughing like he heard the funniest joke ever told, which would have been fine if he wasn't eating while he was laughing, it was a pretty disgusting sight.

It didn't matter to Shirou though, since the only reason he had made that request was to see if he could end the noble's hunt for Risty without having to get his hands dirty.

After Shirou had left the abandoned and worn out church, he went back to where the noble's carriage had been earlier since it was the first place to check for the fat guy.

When he finally got back there, he wasn't surprised to see a mob of thugs making a protective ring around the carriage. What happened after that is a little bit blurry but it ended with all of the thugs laying battered on the ground and the door of the carriage being ripped off its hinges.

"So that is a no?" Shirou asked dryly.

The noble smirked as a trail of juice flowed down his chin. "Of course not! Do you actually expect me to let that whore of thief to get away? I don't care if I have to hire hundreds upon hundreds of these brutes to scour the entire forest just to find her. One way or another, I will have her brought before me!"

Shirou nodded, he had expected that response, but still tried to be persistent. "Look, you will be compensated for the stolen items, so there is no need to go to such extremes."

The noble scoffed in return. "Do you think I care about the money? I have plenty of it! As I said before, she ruined my reputation among the nobles community! That is a much worse crime than a simple theft!"

Shirou by now was starting to get really irritated at noble. It's only thanks to having dealt with like him before that Shirou is still willing to negotiate. "Do you seriously expect to get your reputation repaired by simply capturing the thief? I think it would do the exact opposite instead as you would reveal to your so-called precious noble community, that your mansion was robbed by a woman who just recently became an adult."

At hearing those words the noble started laughing again. "It might not repair my reputation, but at least I will have the satisfaction of chocking the life out of her after I let my brutes violate her! So in conclusion, no matter what you say or offer, low born, I will not change my mind on this!"

After a few silent moments passed, Shirou sighed deeply before sharpening his gaze into a glare. "Then maybe this will make you reconsider.

"Huh?" The noble said dumbly before the shine of light off a steel blade caught his eyes. "Argh!"

The noble grasped his hand as blood trickled out of it. The cut was shallow and the wound wasn't really that big, maybe an inch or two long but nothing bigger, and it really wasn't all that painful. It looked more like an accidental knife cut than it did an attempt on his life, to which he was quite used to since his tax policies weren't exactly the most fair… and were prone to sudden raises out of the blue.

The noble gave Shirou a mocking glare. "Is this all? How pathetic!"

"The poison should be taking any effect now." Shirou said as nonchalantly as Pathfinder, medic and serial killer extraordinaire of Vance Estate. He even shrugged like the white haired male use to do as well.

A clank was heard as the fork dropped right out of the noble's hand and onto the plate. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head and he was sweating like he was in a hot sauna. That was the cue for Shirou took a few steps back and a few moments later, watch as the noble vomited onto the plate and a few inches away from the carriage.

"W-w-what did you do?!" The noble roared, a trace of the vomit present on the corner of his mouth. His eyes went wide like some kind of wild animal's.

"I'd be careful and wouldn't get too excited if I were you." Shirou commented as he sidestepped the noble's sudden lunge at him. "The faster you heart beats the faster the poison spreads. Since it was especially made by Pathfinder, you'll be gone faster than you can say 'oops.'"

"Who's Pathfinder?" The noble was able to wheeze before puking again. It was a really bad to be chubby in situations like this.

Shirou took a step back and adopted an exaggerated shocked look on his face. He still needed some work on his acting skills. "You have never heard of the Pathfinder?! He's like one of the most notorious and devilish serial killers on this side of the world. He once poisoned the drinking well of an entire village because they looked at him the wrong way!"

"No." The look of panic was starting to set in on the noble's face.

"Yes!" Shirou cracked his neck. "But that isn't even the worst part." He paused for dramatic effect. "When the queen's soldiers went into the village all they found were..."

"What?" The noble asked fearfully.

Shirou didn't answer.

"What!?" The noble asked louder, now visibly shaking.

Still no answer.

"What!? What did they find!?" The noble scream his eyes nearly popping out of his skull.

"Nothing but bags of rotted skin." Shirou finally answer calmly.

The noble shrank back as dread overtook him. "N-no."

"But, there is a way to save yourself." The redhead added.

The noble's eyes gleamed with hope. "What is it?"

"Why should I tell you?" Shirou folded his arms and looked away. It was really hard to keep a calm face and act like Pathfinder... it was scary that he was doing it great so far. "What have you ever done for me?"

"I-I'll give you money!" The noble cried as he threw gold coins at Shirou. "I'll give you all the money you want!"

"I'm not interested in money." Shirou rejected the offer. "I only have one request."

The noble grimaced when he saw the look on Shirou's face. He already knew what this low born was going to ask for and he didn't like it one bit. He was a man of pride and honor after all and he couldn't stand to have a thieving whore or a low born have their way. Although, his life was much more valuable than his pride... not matter how much it pained him to admit so.

"Fine!" The noble gave in. "I'll let that thief be." He said unconvincingly before impatiently commanding, "Now give me the antidote!"

"Here." Shirou said as he handed the noble a piece of parchment.

"What... what is this!?" The noble demanded.

"A list of ingredients." Shirou explained.

"For what!?"

"The antidote of course." Shirou shrugged. "I never said I would give you a made antidote."

The noble bit his lip. "You sly bastard."

Shirou arched an eyebrow. What a strangely accurate statement. He was being rather sly and underhanded today for whatever reason or maybe everyone else wasn't being themselves today. It must be something in the air or maybe it more of an psychological rub off Shirou got from spending so much time with the magus... and Pathfinder. Well it seems that he has learned yet another thing from the people around him. Although, Shirou wasn't exactly crazy about being like Pathfinder, Shirou was Shirou and Pathfinder was Pathfinder. That was the way it should be.

_"Well then... I'm definitely going to need to sit down and rethink this day." _The red haired male noted as he folded his arms. _"Although, if it works now I won't complain."_

"I don't believe you."

_"I knew it wouldn't work."_

"But it seems that I have no choice then." The noble whimpered as he bit his thumb.

_"It's working!?"_

"Fine! I leave you here today. But, know that I will return!" The noble shouted.

_"I repeat... it's working!?"_

With that the noble sped off in his carriage and into the sunset.

_"...it worked."_

* * *

Shirou yawned lowly as he sat Indian style at the exit of Circlette town, the one that led to Sheldan Free City. About an hour ago he had returned with all the stolen items that he had traded a rather large portion of his funds in order to get back, but he still wasn't off the hook. Which is the reason why he was sitting idle at the town exit... with an armed guard standing behind him.

They had to make sure that he didn't pull a fast one and try to sneak out with the most valuable items, which was understandable since it wasn't wise to put so much trust into a stranger. Although, he did the same thing with Risty, who had to bring the items to him in order to return them, and she pulled through.

"You know... I didn't take anything." Shirou said suddenly. "If I wanted your stuff I would have just taken it."

A moment went by before the guard's response. "I know but we can't be too careful."

_"Can't argue with that." _The red haired male sighed.

"Alright you're free to go." A familiar voice said.

Shirou peered over his shoulder to see Margret and Jack, the bartender from before, standing there. He got up, brushed himself off, and did a half turn to face them. "Alright then. I guess I'll be going."

"Take care."

"Good luck."

Shirou gave a short nod as he walked away towards his next stop: Sheldan Free City.

* * *

_**AN:**_

_**This Chapter:**_

This one was a pain to write for but I finished it...with a lot of help from beta. Anyways, the ending is pretty lack luster and that is because I couldn't think of anything else without needlessly progressing the chapter in a unproductive direction. So, I apologize for this chapter still not being up to my normal standards, not saying how I use to write before was any better.

If you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out and I will fix them.

_**Shirou's Character:**_

Well, last chapter a few of you pointed out that Shirou was acting OOC (Out Of Character) and I apologize that was my mistake. I hope that he now more like himself this chapter and isn't as OOC as he was. If he still isn't himself then we'll just have to fix that then. Although, he should be better than what he was before, before meaning the last chapter.

**_Margret_**_** and "Emiya":**_

Yeah, last chapter Margret did say the the name sounded familiar, which was pretty weird to some of you. I won't give anything away but it will all make sense as the story progresses. I promise.

**_Poll:_**

Alright so I need your help with something. There is a poll on my profile, if I didn't effe it up, that asks you to pick between two monsters: Wraith or a Tengu. I want you guys to vote for one of them. Yes it is story related and yes the winner of the poll will decide what happens, so...I would appreciate your vote.

_**New Story: **_

Yes, I'm working on a new story, a few of them be exact. I don't know when they'll be put up but I'm shooting for around the same time the next chapter of this story is posted if not before. No promises so I'll see what I can do. Also, neither one is one has been mentioned before. These are actually recently ideas that I want to "test drive" to see how they would do.

**_Previews:_**

Again, these are meant to be taken with a grain of salt, do not be offended or came at me with torches and pitchforks for screwing something up. These are _previews_ they do not always reflect the original. They also only reflect _possibilities_ not certainties. Anyways, pick your favorites and let me know what you think.

I'll warn that one of them is for Naruto. My feelings about Naruto crossovers has not changed one bit and I stand firmly by what I said. Basically the idea DOES NOT involve Sasuke or Naruto in anyway so no Godlike, uber-Demon, #yoloswagninja420, #idonttweet or GG WP Naruto or Sasuke.

**I do not anything own anything associated with these previews, the previews from before, or any preview I down later. They belong to their respective owners.**

_Preview #1_

_Shirou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he continued to glare at his opponent: a young girl, with short orange hair, wearing a green outfit, and a strange looking dog by her side. She had one of the most twisted face he had ever seen and that was saying something. However, what was more disturbing than the look on her face was the long sword that appeared after the dog bit off her arm._

_"What's the matter getting tired?" The girl taunted with a cruel smirk._

_Shirou didn't answer and got to his feet and gripped his swords tightly. This girl was really starting to grind on his nerves, not as much as Kotomine but definitely getting up there. _

_"It doesn't matter in the end." She said suddenly before the dog bit off the sword then promptly replaced with a massing morning stare. "Justice will always prevail!"_

_"You don't know what justice is!" Shirou proclaim. "This," he gestured to all of the destruction around him. "is just mindless destruction fitting of a monster. Kill many to save a few? What kind of justice is that?"_

_The girl's face twisted once more, this time into one of sheer anger and fury. "Don't speak of justice so casually evil doer!" __She shouted as she charged forward._

_"Allow me to teach it to you."_

Series: FSN x AGK

Notes- Yeah, that is probably something that Shirou would not say to her, but you have to admit even with Shirou's own ideals of justice, Seyruu's ideals are just fucked up. Anyways, I assuming most of you expecting a Shirou and Esdese moment? Yeah, I tried but it didn't pan out so well, I'll see what I can do in ether the next chapter or new story.

Also Shirou's alignment is largely undecided at this point in time.

_Preview #2_

_"Are you stupid!?"_

_"What are you doing!?"_

_Those two boys from the front gate said as they whisked me out of the courtyard where a large group of...g...g...g-g...girls had gathered. It looked like they were about to fight or something. When were a safe distance away, aka the gate, we gathered in a circle._

_"There were girls." I said_

_"Of course there were girls!" The taller boy said. "Didn't you know? Nangokuren High School use to be an all girls school until recently. As guys we're the minority with girls being the majority of over 99%"_

_I gulped. "99%"_

_"And that is not the best part." The tall be added as he started to drool. "About half of the population are...monster girls."_

_I nearly flat lined right there. Girls and monster girls!? What kind of hell has been spread upon us!?"_

Series: Dragon's Rioting x (It's a secret but I'm sure some of you already know)

Note- Genius idea

_Preview #3_

_Itachi Uchiha shifted his eyes to the side. He had felt a presence tailing him and it had been tailing him for a while now. He first noticed it when he walked out of the cafe after he stopped to get some hot chocolate. Whoever or whatever it was didn't seem to be threatening, but appearances were never to be trusted without proper inspection._

_"Sorry mother, I'm going to have to call you back." Itachi said as he hung up the phone and took a short trip to a scarcely populated street and into an alley._

_Then it was set, if someone was following him then they would likely follow him into the alley. _

_A few moments later a woman walked into the alley and adopted a completely bamboozled look on her face. Where did he go? She literally just saw him and then he just upped and disappeared into an alley. How was that even possible?_

_"What are you doing?"_

_Her eyes widened before she spun on her heel to see Itachi standing directly behind her. In shock, she stepped a few feet back. "How did you?"_

_"That isn't important." Itachi said as he walked towards her. Every step he took forward was matched by her taking a step back. "Who are you?"_

_"I uh..." He was getting dangerous close to her and the wall behind her as getting closer as well._

_"Who are you?" The raven haired male repeated in the same voice as before._

_"No...I don't." She felt the wall touch her back, there was no escape now. Now he was close, his face just inches from her's._

_"Last chance, who are you?"_

_The woman gulped. "Number 43."_

_"I see." He replied as he raised a hand and placed it on her cheek. She was burning hot and her face was flushed red. "Whats a little bird doing so far from the nest?"_

Series: Itachi x (easy to figure out)


End file.
